A/HRC/8/WG.2/TF/2 page 14 51. The task force did not approach the application of the criteria as a process of judging the performance of partnerships against a “scorecard”, but rather as a constructive dialogue with them about concrete commitments congruent with the right to development, identifying possible entry points for introducing relevant features of this right. In order to assist the partners, the task force encouraged incremental change in partners’ policies and activities. The technical missions indicated a willingness on the part of partners to consider, over time and based on further collaboration with the task force, the application of the criteria to such complex issues as ownership, mutual accountability, and reciprocal responsibilities. 52. The observations and findings of the three technical missions, supported by independent expert studies, confirmed many of the tentative assessments made at the third session of the task force, as to conformity with the criteria. The relevant findings are as follows. 1. African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) 53. The APRM has the potential to be a novel model of monitoring African governance. While not, in the strict sense, a global partnership under MDG 8, this South-South partnership preserves the autonomy and the voluntary nature of State participation, while replacing conditionality imposed by donor countries with accountability among peers and responsibility at the national level to assume ownership through independent national governing councils, and national focal points. The APRM secretariat, the Panel of Eminent Persons, and national institutions and research centres which administer the questionnaire perform essential functions to control the accuracy and thoroughness of national reporting and lend credibility and legitimacy to the process. The level of popular participation in its reviews comes closer to meeting the right to development criteria than any of the partnerships the task force has studied. However, the APRM should make efforts to improve access to information about its processes both at a national and regional level and improve follow-up and implementation of the Programme of Action, which should be costed, time-bound and aligned with existing development strategies. 54. The African Union (AU), NEPAD, APRM and African human rights institutions need to work together to achieve institutional cohesion. APRM serves as a partnership supporting implementation of the right to development and should relate directly to the African human rights institutions (the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court and national human rights institutions). The full range of human rights should be taken into account, drawing on all African and international norms and standards, including the right to development and other human rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In particular, more detailed reporting on freedom of expression, assembly, association and access to information, as well as election management and non-discrimination, should be explicitly and systematically integrated into the APRM process. 55. The task force wishes to continue dialogue with key partners, examine country self-assessments, country reviews and the implementation of National Programmes of Action, as well as establish contact with national and regional African human rights institutions.