In the Laayoune Declaration, which concluded the Network’s tenth annual general assembly, they emphasized the need to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and Africa’s firm aspirations for advanced regional integration and the development of shared collective intelligence.

They noted that evaluation provides public officials with essential tools and mechanisms to improve the quality of legislation, guide state action in a harmonious and integrated manner, and build and strengthen citizens’ trust in their institutions.

The declaration stated that the African continent possesses the human and institutional capacities necessary to build independent and robust evaluation systems, tailored to its specific characteristics and realities, thereby strengthening evidence-based governance and mutual learning.

In this regard, the Laayoune Declaration underscored the need to recognize evaluation as a democratic right and an essential tool for consolidating transparency, enhancing public accountability, broadening citizen participation, and adopting evaluation as a permanent institutional practice that accompanies all stages of the public policy cycle.

It also reaffirmed the collective commitment to integrating evaluation into parliamentary work, particularly through strengthening parliamentarians’ evaluation capacities and establishing specialized and qualified parliamentary working groups to objectively analyze, review, and assess the impact of public policies.

The declaration highlighted parliamentary intelligence as a cornerstone of modern governance, achieved through investment in knowledge, training, scientific research, data-driven analysis, and the strengthening of institutional capacities.

Furthermore, African parliamentarians called for a renewed model of parliamentary openness, based on the participation of citizens, universities, civil society organizations, and local authorities in a participatory and inclusive evaluation process.

They also recommended deepening the African dimension of parliamentary cooperation in the field of evaluation by encouraging the exchange of expertise and experiences, harmonizing and coordinating standards, building a shared institutional memory, and developing a distinctive and authentic African evaluation expertise.

They urged the establishment of an African Parliamentary Observatory for Evaluation for Development to serve as a permanent institutional framework for cooperation, coordination, and knowledge sharing among African parliaments. Such a body would sustainably consolidate standards of quality and excellence in evaluation practice, making it a cornerstone of public action at both the regional and continental levels.

They further called for the adoption of an African Charter on Parliamentary Evaluation as a reference document aimed at unifying the concepts, approaches, and methodological principles governing evaluation practices, in a manner that guarantees their independence, impartiality, and objectivity.

The African parliamentarians also recommended supporting the establishment of national evaluation structures within each parliament of APNODE member states, in the form of specialized national evaluation networks. This would contribute to consolidating a sustainable evaluation culture and establishing a regular mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the commitments outlined in the declaration, in a spirit of cooperation, experience-sharing, and mutual learning among African parliaments.

They reaffirmed the strategic significance of this African gathering, held in Laayoune, the capital of the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Morocco—a symbol of the region’s remarkable development dynamism, underpinned by a far-sighted vision for integrated and sustainable development.

Finally, they expressed profound gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his insightful vision and wise leadership in serving a unified and cohesive Africa, confident in its ability to shape its own shared development path. They recalled His Majesty’s dedication to supporting South-South cooperation and the renewed momentum he has given to the process of continental integration.

They also commended the choice of Laayoune to host this continental meeting, recognizing its special symbolism given the pivotal role of the southern provinces, the ongoing development projects, and the exemplary infrastructure and socio-economic achievements that have transformed the region into a hub of development and prosperity and a promising platform for open Atlantic regional cooperation.