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| ICC’s International Cooperation Adviser Dahirou Santa-Anna (L) |
THE HAGUE, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) says it is working closely with international partners to secure the long-awaited arrest of fugitive Ugandan warlord and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, so he can finally stand trial for atrocities committed in the country’s north.
Leonie von Braun, one of the trial lawyers on the Kony case, on Nov 28 urged victims not to lose hope, saying the ICC remains committed to securing Kony’s arrest despite years of frustration.
“We are working with our partners to have him arrested and surrendered, but until that time, the next steps will not materialize,” von Braun said during a virtual media briefing from The Hague.
“The international community and victims of northern Uganda should not give up hope because we shall still succeed in arresting him,” she added.
Braud declined to reveal the partners assisting with the hunt for the elusive rebel leader, citing sensitivity and security concerns.
“I cannot share details with you about who our partners are or what information we are sharing. It’s too sensitive and too risky to share this type of information in the public domain,” she held.
Her remarks came barely a month after the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber III confirmed all 39 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Kony — the first time in the court’s history that charges have been confirmed against a suspect in absentia.
Dahirou Santa-Anna, the ICC’s International Cooperation Adviser, described the decision as “historic”.
“We consider this an important decision because in the history of the ICC, it’s the first time that judges have confirmed charges against a suspect in his absence,” he said.
Braun explained that Kony’s evasion is largely due to his movement across territories where states are not party to the Rome Statute, making cooperation for his arrest difficult.
“He has been operating in territories where members of the Rome Statute are not present, making it difficult for them to cooperate in his arrest,” she said.
She added: “The ICC itself doesn’t have a standby military force. So, we rely on partners to assist in arresting and surrendering fugitives.”
Kony is widely believed to be hiding in the sparsely governed jungles of the Central African Republic.
Although the confirmation of charges is a major milestone, the ICC cannot proceed to trial without Kony’s physical presence.
“This phase before the ICC judges is done. We will never have to redo it,” Braun stated, noting that: “If he is arrested and handed over before The Hague, then we will move to the next phase — the full trial. But until he is physically present, the trial cannot proceed.”
She said the confirmation hearing was essential to ensure that, once arrested, Kony faces immediate trial without delays linked to preliminary procedures.
The ICC judges found substantial grounds to believe that Kony is responsible for 39 charges committed between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005.
These include crimes against humanity — such as murder, enslavement, torture, forced marriage, rape, sexual slavery, persecution, and forced pregnancy — and multiple war crimes including attacks on civilians, pillaging, and the conscription of children.
Kony is accused of directing systematic attacks on schools and internally displaced persons’ camps, and of orchestrating widespread abductions of children and women, who were forcibly integrated into the LRA.
Over two decades, the LRA insurgency led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the displacement of an estimated 1.5 million others across northern Uganda. — NNN-AGENCIES