Chapter one: The African Peer Review Mechanism and its implementation in Lesotho 21. Following the CSM, the country continues with the sensitisation process and embarks on the selfassessment process in earnest. The finalisation of the CSAR and NPoA, and the submission of these to the APR Panel, marks the end of stage one. Stage two: country review visits 22. This stage of the APRM comprises country review visits. During this stage, the Country Review Mission (CRM) will visit a country under review in order to carry out broad-based consultations with government, political parties, parliamentarians and representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs). The country review serves three main purposes, namely: to provide the CRM with the opportunity to interact with key governance stakeholders in the country; to afford the CRM an opportunity to discuss and validate the CSAR and the NPoA with the relevant stakeholders; and to assist in building consensus among key stakeholders on key issues and governance challenges for the country and how to address them. The Issues Paper 23. The key to a successful review is the Issues Paper, which outlines substantive governance matters that form the core of the assessment and the review. These include the following: • Specific substantive issues in the four thematic areas. • Issues relating to the adequacy of the data and information available. • Issues relating to the management of the APR processes in the country: was the structure established in line with the values and principles of the APRM, i.e., was it sufficiently independent and did it carry out the assessment objectively? • Issues relating to the processes that the country implemented in drawing up the CSAR and in developing the NPoA. The main issue is: was there participation by all stakeholders and was it broad enough? Stage three: CRM report 24. During this stage, the CRM prepares its report on the basis of its preliminary consultations and of the findings of the background studies and the country’s programme of action. The report is discussed with government, after which appropriate revisions are made. The response of the government is appended to the report. Specific focus falls on how the NPoA could be improved, with best practices being highlighted and deficiencies or challenges that would call for deliberate efforts towards capacity building for the nurturing and consolidation of democratic governance being identified. Stage four: submission of the report to the APR Panel 25. In this stage, the CRM report is submitted to the APR Panel for consideration. The APR Panel makes its recommendations regarding the report and submits the report to the APR Forum for peer review. The APR Forum deliberates regarding the report and makes the requisite decisions relating thereto. Stage four is completed when the chairperson of the APR Forum communicates the decisions of the forum to the head of state or government of the country concerned. 23