Conceived at the dawn of the Millennium as part of the NEPAD initiative, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was formally launched by the African Union Member States on 9th March 2003 when 11 countries signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on the African Peer Review Mechanism” in Abuja, Nigeria as a voluntary tool to assess political, economic and corporate governance, and socio-economic development in member states. Within the African Union (AU) framework, the APRM is considered Africa’s most innovative initiative designed to fill a serious gap in longstanding continental efforts to tackle governance challenges.

Since the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, African states have subscribed to a large number of charters, conventions, treaties, declarations and other instruments with significant, substantive and binding obligations to establish and administer rules-based, transparent and accountable governance.

The APRM was designed to fill these gaps, albeit on a voluntary and non-coercive basis. However, commitments to human rights, democracy and good political and economic governance have not always been matched with the required institutional capacity to enforce and monitor them. The African Peer Review Mechanism seeks to ensure that the policies and practices of participating states conform to AU standards on transparency and accountability. Participation in the process is open to all AU Member States and the guiding principles of the APRM require that all reviews are: technically competent, transparent, credible and exempt from political manipulation. Reviews should highlight good practices, ask critical questions, set goals, and differentiate responsibilities between government and non-governmental actors. The APRM reports also recommend mitigation actions for the challenges raised.  

Key Achievements 

The APRM has also successfully profiled African best practices. Mozambique’s strong commitment to the peer review mechanism has resulted in the introduction of a number of innovative practices including, among others:

• The establishment of a National Commission for Human Rights integrating Government officers, Members of Parliament, barristers, lawyers, and civil society representatives.
• The introduction of an Ombudsman with the main function of dealing and following up on petitions, grievances and citizen’s complaints in relation to services rendered by state institutions. 
• The revision of electoral legislation was reviewed, and the creation of a biometric data base to facilitate electronic digital impression for all electoral acts. 
• A Fund for Peace and National Reconciliation was created under Decree 72/2014 of 5th December. Approval by Parliament of the Access to Information Law in November 2014 enabling greater access to information by various sectors of society and strengthening transparency in governing processes. 
• It also obliges public and private entities carrying out public interest activities to provide information when requested by citizens.