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President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is also Chairperson of the African Peer Review Forum, chaired the 20th Summit of the Committee of Heads of State and Government of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) on the fringes of the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Wednesday, January 29.
According to a dispatch from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, high on the agenda were presentations of progress reports by South Africa and Mozambique on their respective National Program of Action; on Equatorial Guinea's accession into the APRM; and consideration of various administrative aspects of the Mechanism.
President Sirleaf commended South Africa and Mozambique for their openness in recounting their successes and challenges, and for their progress toward achieving the continent's shared aspirations for good governance.
She congratulated the Government and people of Equatorial Guinea for officially joining the APRM by signing the Memorandum of Understanding for accession, thereby committing themselves to the APRM Process. She encouraged the remaining African States not party to the Mechanism to join the APRM family. Equatorial Guinea is the 34th country to accede to the APRM.
The Liberian leader reflected on APRM's progress over the decade of its existence, recounting the continent's commemorative activities throughout 2013, including national celebrations that were organized on March 9 - the date that Member States have agreed to celebrate "APRM Day" annually.
As Chair of the APR Forum, President Sirleaf announced the nomination, for consideration and appointment, of Ambassador Fatuma Nyirakobwa Ndangiza of Rwanda and Ambassador Ashraf Rashed of...