NEPAD/APRM/Panel3/guidelines/11-2003/Doc8 NEPAD/APRM/Panel2/country /10-2003/Doc 7 behind the national Programme of Action that participating countries are expected to develop and implement. 13. The APRM process is designed to be open and participatory. Through a participatory process, the APRM will engage key stakeholders to facilitate exchange of information and national dialogue on good governance and socio-economic development programmes, thereby increase the transparency of the decisionmaking processes, and build trust in the pursuit of national development goals. 14. To ensure transparency and accountability in the APR process, rules and procedures will be developed and approved to guide the conduct of all stakeholders. These include: a code of conduct for all components of the APRM Organisation.[APRM Organisation and Processes Document, paragraph 2.2 i.]; a code of conduct for the Panel of Eminent Persons, the Secretariat and the APR Teams [APRM Organisation and Processes Document, paragraph 3.1 15. Every review exercise must be technically competent, credible and free of political manipulation. III. The APR Processes 16. The APR process will be conducted under the leadership of the APR Panel and the technical support of the APR Secretariat. It consists of five stages that are defined in the APRM Base Document and explained in detail below. The flow chart, (on page 5) summarises the main processes of the APRM. However, allowance has been made for a preliminary phase known as country Support Mission, in view to assisting countries to be better prepared to participate in the Peer Review Process. III.1 Country Support Missions 17. The primary purpose of the country support missions is to: a) Ensure a common understanding of the philosophy, rules and processes of the APRM; b) On the basis of the self-assessed needs of the Participating Country, plan and provide support to the Participating Countries in aspects of the national processes where they signal a need for such support. 18. It is anticipated that Participating Countries might, at the outset, need support and reinforcement of capacities in the following areas: Page 3 of 20