Mozambique presented its second African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Report, joining Uganda and Kenya as pioneers in submitting the second generation of APRM assessments and the first Southern African country to do so. The Report was presented by H.E Filipe Nyusi, President of Republic of Mozambique during the 28^th Summit of the Heads of State and Government Participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism held in Addis Ababa in mid-February 2019.

APRM is a self-monitoring instrument voluntarily agreed to by member states of the African Union. Its primary purpose is to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration through sharing of experiences and reinforcement of successful and best practice, including identifying deficiencies and assessing the needs of capacity building.

The APRM requires that each country undertakes a rigorous self-evaluation through a broad participatory process led by the government that results in a National Programme of Action (NPoA) with time bound objectives to guide all stakeholders in the actions.

Thus, in Mozambique, various stakeholders were involved in preparing the 2^nd Country Review Report, namely government and civil society actors, coordinated by the National APRM Forum, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from several development partners.

Professor Lourenço do Rosario, Chairperson of National APRM Forum, speaking at a Board Meeting in Maputo on February 20, reported that AU commended Mozambique on this achievement noting that many countries that are yet to adhere to this initiate, which will become mandatory in due course, can greatly benefit from Mozambique’s experience. He was also thankful for the partnership: “We are very grateful for UNDP commendable support and for all those who made this report possible in a relatively short timeframe,” Prof. do Rosario said.

UNDP Acting Resident Representative, Martim Faria e Maya congratulated the National APRM Forum for this achievement, pledging continued support: “UNDP is committed to continue supporting this activity, which is a contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the AU vision for Africa’s Development, the Agenda 2063,” he said.  

Financial and technical assistance to the APRM has been an important component of UNDP Mozambique Governance portfolio since 2003, contributing to the effort to promote good governance and inclusive development in the Country.

APRM is considered one of Africa’s most innovative initiative and is designed to fill a serious gap in longstanding continental efforts to tackle governance challenges. Mozambique has been participating in the APRM since 2003 and has made significant progress in achieving the phases recommended by the APRM cycle, culminating in the submission of the first Country's Review Report at the 11th APRM Summit held in Syrte, Libya in June 2009 and subsequently  its first Progress Report (2010-2012) at the 20^th  APRM Summit held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2014 and its second Progress Report (2012-2014) at the 24^th  APRM Summit in January 2016, which signaled not only the progress achieved in the building of political, economic, legal and institutional foundations, aiming for peace consolidation, national cohesion and economic development, but also short, medium and long-term key challenges in the country. The presentation of these two Reports paved the way for the country to prepare for the second cycle of the Reviews.

Mozambique’s strong commitment to the peer review mechanism has resulted in the introduction of several governance practices and reforms, although some challenges remain, particularly in the areas of democracy and political governance, economic governance and social development.