A/HRC/40/CRP.1 Furthermore, the Petroleum Act (2012) stipulates that oil-related documentation held by the Government shall as far as possible be made publicly available and provides for regular public reporting by the Government and other parties, including on payments made to the Government and data on oil revenues and relevant details of petroleum agreements (Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements, EPSA). 1039 This law also lays down key regulations on environmental protection and compensation for harms suffered by local inhabitants and negative impacts on local communities.1040 The Petroleum Act also establishes a National Petroleum and Gas Commission, which inter alia carries out important supervisory functions on behalf of the Government, and ensure that petroleum agreements are in line with the law.1041 The ARCSS and the R-ARCSS replicate several of the above-mentioned provisions, and lay down deadlines for their implementation, following the expiration of the PreTransitional Period of eight months (from the signing of the R-ARCSS). For example the RARCSS in Articles 4.8.1.1 and 4.8.1.2 calls for implementation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, and the closure of any petroleum revenue accounts not established under the Act, within three months of the start of the Transition period. The R-ARCSS also instructs the authorities to expedite the operationalization of Future Generations Fund and the Oil Revenue Stabilization Account and review and audit allocations and transfers of the two percent and three percent made to oil producing states since 2011.1042 Significantly, and as will be further discussed below, the R-ARCSS also calls for the review and transformation of both the national oil company Nilepet and the National Petroleum and Gas Commission, and to “empower them to exercise their responsibilities as stated in the Amended Constitution and Law”.1043 g) Implementation or lack thereof Despite the existence of the above-mentioned strong legal safeguards, and the fact that both the Petroleum Act and the Petroleum Revenue Management Act have been in force for a number of years now, as discussed below, in practice, they have reportedly not been fully enforced. This non-implementation of legal guidelines drafted and adopted by the South Sudanese Parliament seriously undermines the rule of law and negates the principles of social justice underpinning much of the legislation. The very fact that the R-ARCSS explicitly asks for the implementation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Acts generally, and for review of the implementation of several of its provisions suggests that not only has there been little or no implementation thus far, but also that reliable information on the degree and manner of implementation is lacking.1044 With regards to the Petroleum Act, there have been consistent reports that key provisions on transparency have not been implemented: for example, no exploration and production sharing agreements have been publicized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, and the Petroleum Registry that should compile such agreements and other data to make them accessible to the public was not yet created. 1045 Crucially, information on oil revenues has not been made public by the Ministry. 1046 Such lack of oversight and scrutiny has reportedly surrounded deals where in particular, the Government has used future oil revenue as a collateral for loans1047 and other transactions which is has sought to conceal. For example the Commission was informed that the Government attempted to sign a contract 1039 Petroleum Act (2012), sections 77-80. Petroleum Act (2012), sections 59-62, 81 and 100(8). 1041 Petroleum Act (2012), Chapter III, sections 9-11. 1042 R-ARCSS, Articles 4.8.1.14.7 and 4.8.1.14.9. 1043 R-ARCSS, Article 4.8.1.14.14. 1044 In addition, the last report by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, on the Status of Implementation of the ARCSS, for the period from 1 April to 30 June 2018, noted in paragraph 45 that little, if any progress had been made in the implementation of Chapter IV of the ARCSS – “ which concerns Resource, Final and Economic Management”. 1045 David K. Deng, “Oil and Sustainable Peace in South Sudan”, South Sudan Law Society, February 2015, p. 5 1046 Global Witness, “Turning the tide: Building a clean oil sector through South Sudan’s Peace Agreement”, 2015, p. 12; Confidential Meeting, Juba, 18 December 2018. 1047 Global Witness, “Turning the tide: Building a clean oil sector through South Sudan’s Peace Agreement”, 2015, pp. 5, 13-14. 1040 134