Chapter II: Background and Context to the Strategic Plan 2.1 Background and Context The African Governance Architecture that has emerged from this document includes the African Peer Review Mechanism as well as an agreed set of shared values frameworks which encompass APRM thematic areas, objectives and principles including Good Governance, Democracy, Elections, Human Rights, Humanitarian Issues, Civil Society Participation and Gender Equality. 40. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is Africa’s most innovative and ambitious initiative on governance, which was launched in 2003 as a voluntary mechanism for self- and peer-assessment of governance policies and practices on the Continent. 41. In this context, peer review is described as “the systematic examination and assessment of the performance of a State by other States, with the ultimate goal of helping the reviewed State improve its policy making, adopt best practices, and comply with established standards and principles”. 45. The APRM has as its core mission the deepening of democratic practices through, inter alia, review of national policies and practices against established standards of good governance, identification of deficiencies as well as best practices, and development of tools and methods by which the deficiencies would be rectified and the best practices disseminated and replicated across the continent. The ultimate aim is to encourage and foster the building of transformative leadership and constructive national dialogue through inclusive and participatory self- and peer-assessment processes beyond the current state of practice, thereby significantly strengthening transparency, accountability and public participation in government. 42. A proper understanding of the APRM requires a full appreciation of the challenges of the time in which it was born. At the turn of the millennium and formation of the African Union, the Continent faced an array of challenges, not least the eradication of poverty and the urgent need to foster socioeconomic development. The adoption of the Constitutive Act of the African Union in 2000 underlined the determination of African leaders to overcome these challenges and to position their countries, both individually and collectively, on the path of sustainable development. 46. The APRM Base Document outlines the principles of the APRM, which are to conduct review exercises in participating states in a manner that is technically competent, credible and free of manipulation. The principle of sharing knowledge on mutually agreed policies, standards and practices is also recognised in the founding documents of the APRM, as are the principles of inclusion and participation of all members of society in the APRM process as part of national ownership. 43. Born in that historical context, the APRM sought to promote the values of transparency, accountability and public participation; with specific, time-bound and measureable commitments by member States across the four thematic areas, namely Democracy and Political Governance, Economic Governance and Management, Corporate Governance and Socioeconomic Development. As such, APRM assessments and reviews examine such attributes of good governance as participatory democracy, constitutionalism and rule of law. The impact of the APRM since inception has been far-reaching, as the focus on good governance lays a foundation for socio-economic development at all levels, from grassroots to the district and village levels all the way to national authorities, and encourages and empowers citizens to make critical and informed decisions on a range of issues that affect their lives directly. 47. In the first thirteen years of its operation, the APRM has consistently highlighted the case for transformative governance. That persistent call for transformational change is embodied in the African Union Agenda 2063, which is a combined Vision and Action Plan for the next 50 years that comprises seven aspirational goals for the Continent. Several Agenda 2063 goals are central to the mandate of the APRM, including aspirational goal three, which seeks “an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law”. Agenda 2063 is Africa`s principal development framework, incorporating the Common African Position (CAP) on the 2030 SDGs. 44. In this effort, the APRM is guided by the AU Declaration on Shared Values that was passed in January 2011 at the 14th Session of the Assembly. –7–