CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: THE APRM PROCESS AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BENIN __________________________________________________________________________ president of the Republic of Benin, whose last term of office was to finish at the beginning of 2006, wanted the process to begin before he left office so that he could give his successor some strategic guidelines on the governance issues considered to be priorities by the people of Benin. 21. It was, therefore, in response to this request by the Benin head of state that Mrs Marie-Angélique Savané, a member of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons, visited Benin between 14 and 17 November 2005 as head of a delegation of seven persons to provide support for the implementation of the assessment process. 22. The main objective of the support mission was to launch the self-assessment process in Benin. The specific objectives were:  to sign the technical MOU on the APRM;  to evaluate the procedures and mechanisms put in place by Benin for carrying out its self-assessment exercise;  to meet the INCI-APRM and the TRIs in order to assess the potential of researchers to be involved in the process; and  to agree on an implementation plan for the national commission with the aim of accelerating the various self-assessment activities. 23. The mission was received by the president of the Republic of Benin, the president of the Constitutional Court, and the minister of foreign affairs and African integration, who was the APR Focal Point in Benin and who closely monitored the work of the mission. 24. The mission worked intensively with the members of the INCI-APRM. It also held several working sessions with representatives from civil society and the private sector, the Unit for Moral Standards in Public Life and the TRIs to explain the principles, organisation and procedures of the APRM. 25. The mission also explained – to members of the diplomatic corps and international organisations – the objectives of the APRM and the results expected of Africa in general, and particularly in Benin; the progress of the review mechanism; and the role to be played by the different international organisations as partners in the development of the Republic of Benin. 26. The sensitisation activities started immediately in December 2005 but had to be suspended in February and March 2006 to avoid any confusion in the minds of the population because of the campaign for the presidential election. Although the first draft of the self-assessment report was available in December 2006, its release and validation by the population was once again delayed by the elections scheduled for March 2007. Hence, the selfassessment report was not ready until the end of June 2007. However, since the action programme could not be validated by the competent authorities, the mission requested the APR Focal Point and the INCI-APRM to finalise the 37