A/HRC/43/56 government forces in Equatoria. While parts of Central Equatoria State were controlled by elements of the National Salvation Front and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (pro-Riek Machar) (SPLA-IO (RM)), others remained under the control of government forces. The fragmentation of armed actors in Greater Upper Nile and Central Equatoria also contributed to ongoing violence and human rights violations, including conflict-related sexual violence. IV. Human rights context 25. Years of armed conflict before South Sudan gained independence left a legacy of a divided country in which predatory and unaccountable political elites have pursued violent struggles for power and resources at the expense of the security and well-being of their citizens. The consequent dire situation of human rights throughout South Sudan is characterized by the deliberate starvation of civilians, the largest refugee and internal displacement crises in Africa, and sexual and gender-based violence. The norm has become increased securitization of State institutions that sow fear and terror in an environment in which citizens are deprived of their fundamental human rights, and where torture, intimidation, unlawful and arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances have become the norm. 26. During the period under review, government forces were responsible for most of the attacks against civilians, including pillaging, conflict-related sexual violence together with other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, denial of the freedoms of expression, opinion and assembly, the recruitment and the use of children in armed forces and arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian aid, in violation of human rights law and international humanitarian law. Armed groups have also committed serious violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law, including through the recruitment and the use of children. 27. Since independence, South Sudan has been mired in ethnic conflict, with hardly any investment in state-building or any infrastructural development in the country. Entrenched and systemic corruption is the greatest hindrance to peace and stability. Weak institutional capacity to deliver the most basic services expected of a functioning and accountable government undermine the resilience of the State. Deeply entrenched impunity is manifested in the lack of accountability for serious crimes; the failure to establish transitional justice mechanisms; the prioritization by the State of financing for the military and security apparatus over investment in public service, infrastructure and livelihoods; and rentierism, characterized by economic crimes, including corruption and embezzlement, severely weakening the functionality of the State. 28. While domestic law and the international treaties to which South Sudan has voluntarily acceded contain key safeguards to protect human rights and promote accountability, respect for and implementation of these provisions has remained inadequate. As the lack of effective rule of law institutions contributed to destabilizing safety and security, accountability for atrocity and other crimes remained deficient during the reporting period. The statutory court system in South Sudan continued to suffer from a trust deficit among citizens. Inadequate infrastructure, resources and capacity further diminished the ability of the State to provide civilians with access to meaningful justice. The Commission learned in a confidential meeting on 20 August that vacant judicial positions and unpaid salaries paralyzed the functioning of certain courts, including in Juba. 29. In Bor (Jonglei) and Bentiu (Unity), the prevalent use of customary law courts not mandated to hear serious criminal cases, which lacked procedural safeguards and exhibited deeply entrenched cultural biases towards women and girls, also impeded meaningful access to justice. Beginning in October 2018, the United Nations-supported mobile court system, however, improved access to justice in at least 10 locales.15 15 8 See United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Mobile Courts in South Sudan”, 25 March 2019, available from https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/mobile-courts-south-sudan; and “Mobile