1 INTRODUCTION “The mandate of the African Peer Review Mechanism is to ensure that the policies and practices of participating states conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards contained in the Declaration on Democracy, Economic and Corporate Governance. The APRM is the mutually agreed instrument for self-monitoring by the participating governments.” NEPAD/HSGIC/03-2003/APRM/MOU/Annex II 1.1 The APRM and its processes 1. In an effort to enhance the quality of governance in Africa, the Sixth Summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) held in Abuja, Nigeria in March 2003, adopted the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The HSGIC also adopted the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, which had been endorsed earlier at the inaugural Summit of the African Union (AU) held in Durban, South Africa in July 2002. In addition, the Heads of State and Government adopted the main documents that outline the core principles, processes and objectives of the APRM, including the APRM Base Document, the APRM Organisation and Processes document (O& P Document), and the document on Objectives, Standards, Criteria and Indicators for the APRM (OSCI Document). 2. The APRM is an instrument voluntarily acceded to by member states of the AU as a self-monitoring mechanism for African states. The mandate of the APRM is to ensure that policies and practices of participating states conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards contained in the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance. The primary purpose of the APRM 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 thsharing 1