• Corporate governance. • Socioeconomic development. 6. The assessment of governance and development performance in terms of the APRM is based on the codes, standards and objectives that are referenced in the Declaration on Democracy and Political, Economic and Corporate Governance that was adopted at the Sixth Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 9 March 2003. The adopted codes, standards and objectives take into account successive decisions of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and AU summits aimed, inter alia, at ensuring stability, peace and security and promoting closer economic integration. 7. A key feature of the APRM is that it recognises that, given their different historical and political contexts, not all countries are at the same level of development. Countries will therefore start from different baselines and will not be expected to reach their highest performance at the same time. The APRM encourages participating countries to support one another by engaging in constructive peer dialogue and persuasion where necessary so as to ensure that all states achieve full compliance by a mutually agreed date. Furthermore, the APRM fosters peer learning, experience sharing, and the adoption and reinforcement of best practices from within the continent. APRM principles 8. A number of essential factors and principles underpin the effectiveness of the APRM. These include: national ownership and leadership by the participating country; inclusiveness and broad-based participation; accountability; technical competence; credibility; and freedom from manipulation. 9. To ensure that these principles are operationalised, rules and procedures have been developed to guide all stakeholders in the conduct of the review process. These include: the APRM Base Document; the Guidelines for countries to prepare for and to participate in the APRM (Country guidelines); and the standard questionnaire for APRM assessment that is sent to all countries. Membership of the APRM 10. 26 The APRM is open to all member states of the AU. Thus far, 28 African countries have voluntarily acceded (see figure 1.1). Accession entails undertaking to submit to periodic peer reviews and facilitating such reviews. It also includes committing to the implementation of the National Programme of Action (NPoA) arising from the review, and to the operationalisation of the agreed parameters for good governance across the four thematic areas.