[JURIST] The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on Wednesday urged renewed efforts [press release] to arrest militia leader and accused war criminal Joseph Kony [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The statement came after the announcement of the ICC taking legal custody [JURIST report] of former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) [State Department backgrounder] commander Dominic Ongwen this week. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda [official profile] said, “I … encourage all States to renew and refocus efforts to secure the arrest of Joseph Kony as well as all other ICC fugitives. The victims of their crimes have waited far too long and deserve to see justice done.” It is reported that the LRA, led by Kony as High commander, has killed tens of thousands of people and is responsible millions of displaced civilians in the central African region.

Since the 2012 campaign by Invisible Children [advocacy website] to arrest Kony became popular, the international community has shown an increased commitment to his capture. In March 2012 the ICC’s then-chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo expressed his support [JURIST report] for the Invisible Children campaign. Also in 2012 the US House of Representatives proposed legislation [JURIST report] to support and protect Uganda through increased military presence and support in expanding its telecommunications system. In 2009 the ICC said that it was still looking for Kony [JURIST report]. The ICC has been criticized [JURIST op-ed] over the ease with which accused people like Kony can hide from the them and escape trial. Kony has denied the ICC’s allegations [JURIST report] against him. Despite ICC calls for global cooperation [JURIST report] to execute the arrest warrant, Kony has remained at large.