A/HRC/45/CRP.3 forcibly displaced ancestral communities of farmers and cultivators from rural lands rich in agriculture that were then expropriated to benefit communities loyal to the forces. 10. The Commission remains concerned that proxy militias under the command and control of Government forces continued this systematic pattern of attack in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. Between the signing of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan in September 2018 and November 2018, these proxy militias were responsible for acts that targeted and drove the displacement of communities perceived to support the opposition during attacks relating to cattle-raiding. Some of these incidents largely mirrored the pattern of attacks carried out by Government forces between January 2017 and November 2018 (see A/HRC/43/56, Annex II, paras. 13-25). 11. In Jonglei State, already by August 2014, nearly half of the 1.5 million residents were classified as “severely food insecure”.17 Government forces systematically denied humanitarian actors access to Akobo and Pibor Counties in Jonglei between 2017 and 2019, depriving thousands of civilians living under opposition control of objects indispensable to their survival and denying them access to food. Compounding their suffering, the residents of both locales are currently suffering the overwhelming effects of recent flooding, including extensive crop and livestock devastation (Annex V). 12. In addition to the deliberate use of starvation as a method of warfare, indirect or incidental factors contributing to the hunger of millions of South Sudanese women, men, and children primarily revolve around environmental or climatic-induced challenges (bifurcated weather seasons in a subsistence economy), including the delayed onset of seasonal rains, heavy flooding, and drought leading to poor harvests. Flooding across South Sudan in late 2019, for example, was the worst ever recorded,18 weakening the resilience of millions of civilians already suffering the effects of protracted armed conflict. Based on an assessment in November 2019 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, flooding across eight States in South Sudan has damaged 74,157 Ha out of 480,120 Ha of cultivated land and led to the loss of 72,611 tons of cereals. It is estimated that some 3 million livestock are also likely to be affected19 (see Annex V). While flooding in late 2019 was the most devastating on record, South Sudan has experienced periods of heavy flooding every year since 2005.20 13. Moreover, due to the more recent severe flooding in August 2020, the humanitarian situation remains dire, with heightened levels of food insecurity and severe acute malnutrition across South Sudan, particularly in Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area where over 200,000 residents have been displaced.21 As seasonal rains this year began earlier than last year, the situation is only expected to worsen over the coming months. 14. Beyond environmental and climactic factors, other indirect factors contributing to acute food insecurity across South Sudan include the onset of COVID-19, poor macroeconomic conditions, years of asset depletion, and large-scale conflict-induced displacement. Coinciding with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan 17 Livelihood kit beneficiaries in Jonglei State - South Sudan, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO), August 2014, available at http://www.fao.org/emergencies/resources/photos/photo-detail/en/c/240957. 18 Due to abnormally heavy rains and high levels of seasonal flooding in late 2019, President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency on 29 October 2019 which covered 30 counties in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, Greater Upper Nile, and Greater Equatoria. 19 Impact of floods on crop production and livestock, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO), 13 November 2019, available at https://fscluster.org/sites/default/files/documents/fao_-south_sudan_flood_impact_report__13_nov_2019_-_summary.pdf. 20 South Sudan’s devastating floods: why they happen and why they need a coherent national policy, Weekly Review, THE SUDD INSTITUTE, 15 November 2019, available at https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/5df0aae65dca2_SouthSudansDevastatingFloodsWhyTheyHappen_Full.pdf. 21 South Sudan: Floods - Aug 2020, RELIEFWEB, August 2020, available at https://reliefweb.int/disaster/fl-2020-000193-ssd. 7