Executive summary men, children, the youth, workers, the disabled, and other vulnerable people are not able to fully enjoy the rights that are supposed to be guaranteed under these agreements. Although human capacity constraints and financial and institutional constraints have often been blamed for this poor state of implementation, the good political and policy intentions appear to be unattainable. 4.9 There have been encouraging gains in the spheres of democratic and political governance, which include the consolidation of a constitutional monarchy, re-establishment of civil control over the military and police, electoral reforms, peaceful resolution of political disagreements, and the setting up of democracy-enforcing institutions such as the IEC, the ombudsman, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), the Police Complaints Authority, etc. Nevertheless, Lesotho is still confronted with complex challenges. 4.10 First, there is the lingering threat of internal political conflict that might be fuelled by intraparty and interparty tensions that could distract government from normal operations. Secondly, there is a dominant executive branch of government, which is insufficiently countervailed by a weak Parliament and is not sufficiently held accountable by oversight institutions that are subordinated to it. Thirdly, the public service lacks capacity, is unable to deliver public services efficiently and is largely unaccountable. Decentralisation is incomplete, suffers from capacity constraints and is characterised by debilitating tensions between the newly established councils and traditional authorities. Public accountability, which is problematic, is accompanied by cronyism and corruption. Meanwhile, the anticorruption mechanisms are weak and ineffectual. The lack of accountability is amplified by Lesotho’s inability to ratify, domesticate, implement and report on the various international agreements, standards and codes that it has signed. This is coupled with backlogs in the passing of bills to reform the judiciary, and the fact that public policies are adopted but not necessarily implemented. All these factors make it appear as though Lesotho fails to honour its commitments. 4.11 Other challenges emanate from the peculiar geographic and economic situation of Lesotho. It is an enclave economy highly dependent on foreign aid. The small, externally dependent economy faces the risk of having its democracy and political governance agenda determined by powerful external forces. Therefore, questions arise regarding the extent to which Lesotho can determine and own its national policies and political practices, and whether the country can resolve the problems of poverty, unemployment, and HIV and AIDS in order to foster development. However, the CRM acknowledges the political will and the trust of the Basotho to surmount obstacles in their way and develop as a united and prosperous nation. 4.12 The APR Panel recommends that Lesotho: subject international agreements to parliamentary scrutiny and discussion before accession, and make concerted efforts to ratify and domesticate into national law the provisions of the international treaties, conventions and covenants; develop a comprehensive national peace architecture that includes structures and institutions for managing national-, district- and community-level conflicts; strengthen the capacities of the IEC and political parties for managing conflicts by developing strategies and mechanisms for interparty dialogue; enhance constitutional democracy and the separation of powers by reiterating the operational independence of the various governance institutions; reform the Council of State to reflect the composition and dynamics of Lesotho by including civil society representatives; strengthen the 5