NEPAD/APRM/Panel3/guidelines/11-2003/Doc8 NEPAD/APRM/Panel2/country /10-2003/Doc 25. The Fourth Stage begins when the Team’s report and the final Programme of Action are sent to the APR Secretariat and the APR Panel, and then submitted to the APR Forum of participating Heads of State and Government for consideration and formulation of actions deemed necessary in accordance with the mandate of the APR Forum [APRM Base Document, paragraph 23] 26. If the Government of the country in question shows a demonstrable will to rectify the identified shortcomings, then it will be incumbent upon participating Governments to provide what assistance they can, as well as to urge donor governments and agencies to also come to the assistance of the country reviewed. However, if the necessary political will is not forthcoming from the Government, the participating states should first do everything practicable to engage it in constructive dialogue, offering in the process technical and other appropriate assistance. If dialogue proves unavailing, the participating Heads of State and Government may wish to put the Government on notice of their collective intention to proceed with appropriate measures within a given timeframe. Such measures should always be utilised as a last resort [APRM Base Document, paragraph 23]. The interval should provide the opportunity to the Government to undertake the required actions and address the identified shortcomings in a process of constructive dialogue. 27. The Fifth Stage is the final stage of the APRM process. Six months after the report has been considered by the Heads of State and Government of the participating member countries, the report will be formally and publicly tabled in key regional and sub-regional structures such as the Regional Economic Commission to which the country belongs, the Pan-African Parliament, the African Commission on Human and Peoples ’ Rights, the envisaged Peace and Security Council and the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union [APRM Base Document, paragraph 25] 28. It is anticipated that the time line for these processes will vary considerably from country to country depending on country specificity. But the estimated duration of each peer review from the start of Stage One and the end of Stage Four should be between 6 and 9 months. IV. Responsibilities of the participating countries 29. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the APRM (NEPAD/HSGIC/03-2003/APRM/MOU, 09 March 2003) that countries sign on accession to the APRM clearly defines the following responsibilities of the participating country: firstly, to sign the MOU on Page 9 of 20