International Criminal Court member states on Monday unanimously elected Fatou Bensouda of Gambia as the new chief prosecutor of the main genocide and war crimes tribunal. Bensouda said it was "humbling" to be named to the post, which has become one of the most important international legal positions with the growth of international criminal justice over the past decade.
Bensouda, is currently the ICC deputy prosecutor and a former justice minister in Gambia. She will take over next June from Luis Moreno-Ocampo who sought the genocide warrant against Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and crimes against humanity case against late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The new prosecutor was elected by consensus at the annual meeting of the ICC's 120 state parties at the UN headquarters. Bensouda said she was particularly proud of the support given by Africa.
"The African continent has again shown its support and its engagement in favour of international justice and the court," Bensouda said after the election. "But let me stress: I will be the prosecutor of all the states parties in an independent and impartial manner," she added.