42. Commends efforts to ensure regulation of mining activities in the country, including through enactment of the Mines and Minerals Act and establishment of the National Mining Agency responsible for oversight of the sector; 43. Takes note of the programs established to address the negative effects of mining activities, through the National Action Plans of the Mine and Minerals Act and the Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency; 44. Takes note of the efforts undertaken to ensure protection of the environment including through the National Environmental Protection Plan and Policy, the Environment Protection Agency Act, the Bumbuna Watershed Authority and the Bumbuna Conservation Area Act. III. FACTORS RESTRICTING THE ENJOYMENT OF THE RIGHTS GUARANTEED IN THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS 45. Sierra Leone has suffered from war and unrest following a series of coups d'etat which destabilized the country and were a fundamental factor that prevented citizens from fully exercising and enjoying their rights. When the elected Government was overthrown once again in May 1997, the country plunged into civil war. A Peace Accord was signed in 1999, under the auspices of ECOWAS, and the war was officially declared over in 2002. However, over twenty thousand people lost their lives and two million were displaced, while halfa million fled to neighbouring countries. As a result, access to essential basic services such as health facilities, schools, inter alia, was hindered for a long time. 46. Since the end of the civil war, and following the signing of the Peace Accord, Sierra Leone has enjoyed relative political stability and economic growth. However in 2014, an outbreak of the Ebola Virus in West Africa spread to Sierra Leone, which caused a large number of infections and deaths. Furthermore, in addition to the human cost, the outbreak severely eroded the economy as a result of the closure of borders, cancellation of airline flights, and the collapse of cross-border trade, among others. IV. AREAS OF CONCERN While acknowledging the significant efforts made by the Government to promote and protect human rights, the Commission is however concerned about the following: Submission of Periodic Reports , 47. The Initial and Combined Periodic Report, which was submitted in accordance with the Article 62 of the African Charter, was overdue; Obligations of States, ratification and domestication of international instruments 48. The non-domestication of the African Charter within the legal system; 6 :