The move represents a historic step for the court and a potential test case for future prosecutions of suspects who remain beyond its reach.

Kony, who founded the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for two decades but has so far evaded capture. He faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, abduction, sexual enslavement and the conscription of thousands of children as fighters.

Once claiming he wanted to build a government based on the Ten Commandments, Kony’s group became notorious for mutilating victims and carrying out atrocities across northern Uganda. His profile rose in 2012 with the viral “Kony 2012” social media campaign, but years of manhunts have failed to secure his arrest.

In court, prosecutors read out charges detailing alleged atrocities committed between 2003 and 2004, including gender-based crimes such as rape, forced marriage and pregnancy.

“Unfortunately the tentacles of international justice, even though they are lengthy, have not been sufficient to ensure the efficient arrest of fugitives,” said deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang. “Many victims who had the strength to survive the horrors of civil war have not survived this lengthy wait, others have lost patience, but there are some who have waited for this moment.”

Children, the court heard, were abducted from schools and fields, deprived of their rights and forced to kill.

For the first time, the ICC is invoking powers under the Rome Statute to continue proceedings without a suspect in custody. Kony will be represented in absentia by a court-appointed lawyer while judges consider whether to confirm the charges. A trial cannot begin unless he is captured and brought to The Hague.

Legal experts say the case could set a precedent for handling fugitives unlikely to be detained. Survivors of LRA violence are watching the hearing via live screenings in northern Uganda, where rights advocates say it provides long-overdue recognition.

“This is about recognition,” one survivor said. “Even if Kony is not in custody, the world is hearing what happened to our communities.”

The LRA was driven out of Uganda in 2005 and later operated across Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, where its fighters became involved in poaching and illegal mining. Attempts at peace talks in 2008 collapsed when Kony demanded guarantees of immunity from prosecution.

The ICC’s decision to move forward highlights its resolve to pursue accountability despite practical obstacles. With its top prosecutor currently on leave over sexual misconduct allegations and facing political pressure and sanctions, observers say the Kony case is an opportunity for the court to reassert its role on the global stage.