Article 20 All peoples shall have the right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen. Legal framework The fundamental principles of state policy within the Constitution submit sections 4 to 8 as the implementation of this guarantee in the laws of Sierra Leone. General Practise The existence of the people is provided for in section 5 of the Constitution which declares the existence of the people of Sierra Leone by giving them ownership of the state. The principle of self-determination has nations freely choosing their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference. With the cessation of the civil war the Republic of Sierra Leone returned to the principles of freedom, democracy and justice. The state reasserted its right to self-determination and exhibited its democratic will by conducting three successful presidential and parliamentary elections since then, the third being the first that was completely managed by Sierra Leoneans themselves. The State remains committed to the provisions of the Constitution and has instituted a Commission for the proper review of the same with the intention of ridding it of discrimination but capitalising on the empowerment of the people and the tenets of peace, freedom and justice. Article 21 The right of the people to freely dispose of their wealth and resources. Legal framework This right is protected under Section 7 of the Constitution. The Mines and Minerals Acts17 also make provisions for the regulations of mining activities in the country whilst the setting up of a National Mineral Agency by an Act of Parliament in 2012 will further strengthen the oversight of mining activities in the country. General practise Despite these provisions, the practise is that the locals who actually own the land where these activities are carried out do not constructively benefit from the extraction of mineral and natural resources from their land, neither do they fully enjoy the right of lawful recovery of their property and adequate recovery in cases of spoliation. This is evidenced by the destruction of land and property in Moyamba (Sierra Rutile) and Kono where the mining companies, after mining abandon the land in the spoiled state. After such activities, the land is no longer good for agricultural purposes which is what the locals largely depend on. In some instances, it is even impossible to use the land for building purposes. As such, the environment is left destroyed.. There is an environmental protection agency which has a National Environmental Protection Plan and Policy on protecting the environment. The Mines and Minerals Act and the Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency (SLEPA) in their national action plan aim at addressing the issues of spoliation and regulating the activities of mining. 17 Act No. 12 of 2009 23