Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Africa Peer Review Mechanism
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Africa Peer Review Mechanism on the occasion of the meeting of the APR Forum (Heads of State and Government) in Addis Ababa on 28-29 January 2009
As the 29 participating Heads of State and Government gather in Addis-Ababa for the summit of the forum of the African peer review mechanism, the European Union would like to express its full support to the APRM process.
The EU fully acknowledges and respects the African-owned and African-led nature of the APRM process.
With 9 out of 29 countries reviewed, and national dialogues that opened significant space for all stakeholders to discuss public policy, the African Peer Review Mechanism is a remarkable success. The national discussions and elaborations of Programmes Of Action (POA) constitute an internal governance process that is in itself a positive result. The challenge now is a successful implementation of the POAs, including their participatory dimension.
The EU commends the outgoing panel for the frankness and quality of the reviews it has conducted and the reports it has produced. The EU believes that the outgoing panel's composition, representing the diversity of the African continent and sub-regions also contributed strongly to the achievements of the last five years. The pending renewal of the panel will constitute an important step in maintaining this momentum. Given the participating Heads of State and Government’s commitment to this innovative and bold continental process, the EU has no doubts the new panel will uphold the credibility, integrity and diversity that are some of the defining features of the APRM process.
The EU fully supports the process that will make the APRM a tool of the governance agenda of the African Union. In this respect, the EU would like to recall that the APRM is a priority action of the Africa-EU strategic partnership on democratic governance and human rights that aim at setting up a robust African governance architecture, to which the EU is fully committed.
The Candidate Country Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
Attached Files
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:50
