Why the African Peer Review Mechanism Must Remain Voluntary

The policy brief examines the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), noting that 35 of 54 African Union (AU) states have voluntarily joined. It argues against making membership mandatory, asserting that the process relies on the political will and openness of participating states to produce credible reports. The author highlights that more open societies are more likely to complete reviews and that mandatory accession would likely introduce non-credible, manipulated reviews from closed societies, thereby damaging the APRM's reputation. The brief recommends focusing on consolidating the system among committed members and addressing the APRM's financial and administrative shortcomings.

• Mandatory accession to the APRM is viewed as a mistake that would undermine the mechanism's effectiveness and credibility, as the process depends on the perceived desirability of its reports to attract members.
• There is a strong correlation between a country's level of political openness and its active commitment to the APRM; specifically, two-thirds of 'free' and 'partly free' countries have completed a first review, compared to only about one-fifth of 'not free' countries among members.
• The APRM faces significant administrative and financial hurdles, including a minimum annual subscription of $100,000 per country and review costs ranging from $1 million to $3 million.
• The mechanism has struggled with implementation timelines and periodic reviews; no country has yet produced a second review, and none have met the original six- to nine-month timeframe for completion.
• The credibility of APRM reviews varies by country, with open societies like South Africa benefiting from civil society engagement, while reviews in countries like Algeria and Ethiopia have been questioned due to structural governance problems and tight controls on opposition.

APA

Corrigan, T. (2015). Why the African Peer Review Mechanism Must Remain Voluntary. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Policy-Briefing-130.pdf

Chicago

Corrigan, Terence. Why the African Peer Review Mechanism Must Remain Voluntary. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Policy-Briefing-130.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Corrigan |first1=Terence |title=Why the African Peer Review Mechanism Must Remain Voluntary |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Policy-Briefing-130.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2015why, author = {Corrigan, Terence}, title = {{Why the African Peer Review Mechanism Must Remain Voluntary}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Policy-Briefing-130.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }