CHAPTER ONE: THE APR PROCESS AND ITS LAUNCH IN ALGERIA 3. To date, 26 African countries, all AU member states, have voluntarily acceded to the APRM. Accession signifies the commitment of the signatory state to submit to regular reviews by its peers and to be guided by agreed instruments in the application of good political, economic and corporate governance and socio-economic development. Box 1: APRM activity report Widely hailed as the jewel in the NEPAD crown, the APRM is a unique exercise which allows the exchange of information and good practices between Peers based on mutual trust and confidence in the process. It is also a commitment to standards of governance in Africa that serve as an instrument for the implementation of codes and standards enshrined in the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance and Socio-Economic Development. National ownership and leadership by stakeholders are essential factors underpinning the effectiveness of such a process. This includes leadership in ensuring consistency with other existing national processes, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), National Human Rights Action Plans, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ongoing institutional reforms, other poverty reduction strategies and other relevant governance and socio-economic development strategies, programmes and projects. To date, 26 AU member countries have voluntarily acceded to the APRM. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda were the first 16 countries to accede to the APRM. Benin and Egypt signed the MOU concretising their accession at the Extraordinary Summit of the AU held in Syrte, Libya in February 2004. In July 2004, five countries – Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Tanzania – acceded during the AU Summit held in Addis-Ababa in Ethiopia. Sudan and Zambia acceded during the APRM Forum Summit held in Khartoum, Sudan in January 2006. The most recent country to accede to the APRM is São Tomé and Principe, which signed the MOU at the Meeting of the NEPAD Implementation Committee held in Addis Ababa in January 2007. Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Rwanda were the first countries to be reviewed. At the time of the writing of this report, Country Review Missions have been undertaken in Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Algeria. Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya were reviewed by peers at the summits of the APRM Forum in Khartoum and Banjul. 4. The APR process comprises five successive stages, as defined in its Base Document. They are briefly described below. 5. Stage One is a preparatory stage, both at the level of the APR Secretariat and the national level. The Secretariat sends a questionnaire to the participating country under the aegis of the APR Panel, which covers four areas of interest to the APRM. The country then carries out a self-assessment exercise on the basis of the questionnaire and with the assistance, if necessary, of the APR Secretariat and/or partner institutions. Having completed the Country Selfassessment Report (CSAR), the country formulates a preliminary programme 30