MEDIA ADVISORY

Press Briefing:
THE APRM +10: REVIEWING A DECADE OF PEER LEARNING AND PROJECTING A FUTURE OF GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
Dear Colleagues:
The Africa Governance Monitoring Project (AfriMAP), Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA), Oxfam and South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) hosted an international workshop on the APRM ahead of the Forum of Participating Heads of State and Government meetings during the AU Summit/50th anniversary of the OAU/AU. The meeting focused on the effective participatory approach that civil society could adopt in engaging in the APRM process, with the aim of strengthening the mechanism. A briefing will take place on 23 May 2013.
When: 23 May 2013
Times: 11:00hrs
Where: Briefing Room 1, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
What:
The APRM established in 2003, shows a unique peer review process, which no other regional grouping has. To date 33 countries (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia) have signed up and 17 (Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Uganda, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Tanzania) have completed their reviews. However, challenges still loom large over the mechanism’s endurance in the face of uncertainty, at several levels. The way and manner in which the process has been implemented in different countries point to differing motives by individual countries in engaging with the APRM. And whilst some countries have shown strong political commits to ensuring that the process is transparent and participatory others have engaged in a cosmetic exercise of merely ‘going’ through the motions, with no real intensions of implementing recommendations.
Speakers include:
• Prof Ahmed Mohiddin, APRM Expert and leading academic in the field of Governance
• Mr Sam Cudjoe, Executive Secretary APRM Ghana
AfriMAP, the Africa Governance Monitoring and advocacy Project, is an initiative of the Soros foundation network’s four African foundations, and works with national civil society organizations to conduct systematic audits of government performance in three areas: the justice sector and the rule of law; political participation and democracy; and effective delivery of public services. The project also assesses roles of Public broadcaster in Africa, as well as advocating on Citizenship issues on the African continent.
www.afrimap.org
EISA evolved from an election NGO servicing Southern Africa into a more diversified organisation working throughout the continent with national, regional, Pan-African and global partners. The Institute’s work covers elections and other Democracy & Governance fields like political party development, conflict management, legislative strengthening, the African Peer Review Mechanism and local governance and decentralisation. Outside the southern African region, EISA has field offices in Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Sudan, which is a reflection of its broader geographical mandate.
www.eisa.org.za
SAIIA, South African Institute of International Affairs has a long and proud record as South Africa’s premier research institute on international issues. It is an independent, non-government think-tank whose purpose is to encourage wider and more informed awareness of the importance of international affairs. It is both a centre for research excellence and a home for stimulating public debate.
saiia.org.za
For more information please contact:
In Johannesburg/Addis, Jeggan Grey Johnson – Mobile+ 27 836 200578-
email: jeggangj@osisa.org or jgreyjohnson@yahoo.com