ICC member states vote to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan : NPR

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, looks up prior to a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, July 3, 2023.

Peter Dejong/AP

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Peter Dejong/AP

UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court voted to remove the global tribunal’s chief prosecutor on Friday, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged, the court’s oversight body announced.

British barrister Karim Khan was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by The Associated Press in a series of stories, allegations which he has steadfastly denied.

By a large majority, the ICC’s 125-member states ousted Khan from his position, the first time a chief prosecutor has ever been removed from office.

The court’s oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, concluded that Khan had committed “serious misconduct and serious breach of duty,” said Päivi Kaukoranta, the body’s president.

The 56-year-old Khan was temporarily removed from his duties at the ICC in June, pending Friday’s vote, after a report by the executive committee of the court’s oversight body found he had committed “serious misconduct.” According to documents seen by the AP, Khan engaged in a sexual relationship with the woman and tried to prevent her from pursuing her allegations. Khan disputes those findings.

Early in the session, a motion brought by Sierra Leone that would have made it harder to oust Khan failed and diplomats quickly moved forward to vote on removal, several hours ahead of schedule, according to three diplomats familiar with the proceedings.

The lengthy and complicated process has pitted human rights advocates, staff and member states against one another at a time when the court is already facing daunting challenges, including a campaign by the United States to “dismantle” the ICC, which was established to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

In a statement last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Rubio said he will pressure member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States. Countries that “enjoy the benefits of the U.S. security umbrella” will be called upon to reject the court’s jurisdiction over U.S. citizens.