The Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) is headless at a time of acute want. It has been some 11 months because the accusation turned public that the court docket’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sexually assaulted a feminine lawyer in his workplace. He denies the accusation and has, appropriately, taken a short lived go away of absence starting in Might 2025 whereas the U.N.’s Workplace of Inner Oversight Companies (OIOS) conducts an investigation.
We don’t know what occurred between Khan and his employees member, however as two longtime supporters of the court docket, we’re deeply involved by the impact of this growth on this essential establishment. We urge the 125 governments which have joined the court docket—the Meeting of States Events—to request the OIOS to finalize the report of the investigation, which quickly could have been pending for a 12 months.
The Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) is headless at a time of acute want. It has been some 11 months because the accusation turned public that the court docket’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sexually assaulted a feminine lawyer in his workplace. He denies the accusation and has, appropriately, taken a short lived go away of absence starting in Might 2025 whereas the U.N.’s Workplace of Inner Oversight Companies (OIOS) conducts an investigation.
We don’t know what occurred between Khan and his employees member, however as two longtime supporters of the court docket, we’re deeply involved by the impact of this growth on this essential establishment. We urge the 125 governments which have joined the court docket—the Meeting of States Events—to request the OIOS to finalize the report of the investigation, which quickly could have been pending for a 12 months.
In Khan’s absence, two deputies have assumed his duties quickly, and the prosecutor’s workplace continues to do essential work. Most just lately, trials have proceeded and convictions have been secured for two Central African Republic militia leaders.
But many essential points are on maintain, evidently too controversial for the deputies to advance. Somebody of the stature of Khan, or a everlasting substitute, is required to take the warmth for these selections.
For instance, the prosecutor’s workplace is reported to have been making ready to hunt arrest warrants for 2 Israeli far-right ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for increasing Israel’s unlawful settlements within the occupied West Financial institution. But no fees have been made public, and it’s unclear whether or not the matter has superior.
In 2024, Khan filed fees and efficiently sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Protection Minister Yoav Gallant for ravenous and depriving Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Nonetheless, nobody has been charged for Israel’s use of deadly pressure in Gaza, such because the dropping of huge 2,000-pound bombs that indiscriminately decimated Palestinian neighborhoods, or the capturing and killing of ravenous Palestinian civilians as they sought meals from Israeli-backed distribution factors.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Khan, his two deputies, and 6 judges. This transfer was in retaliation for the costs towards Netanyahu and Gallant, and an investigation in Afghanistan which may theoretically have implicated Individuals for torture there. Article 70 of the court docket’s treaty prohibits any menace or intimidation of court docket officers or retaliation towards them due to their official duties. Nobody, nevertheless, has been charged for this blatant obstruction of justice.
In Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been charged for kidnapping Ukrainian kids however not for focusing on Ukrainian civilians or civilian infrastructure. 4 Russian army commanders have been charged for focusing on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure. It’s inconceivable that they’d have acted with out Putin’s approval, but Putin has not been charged for his command accountability.
In Africa, the prosecutor’s workplace is investigating the renewed genocide in Sudan’s Darfur area and the renewed armed battle in japanese Democratic Republic of the Congo, however no fees have been made public. Most importantly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been arming the genocidal Speedy Help Forces militia in Sudan, and Rwandan has been directing and preventing alongside the brutal M23 militia in japanese Congo, but no UAE or Rwandan official has been charged for aiding and abetting atrocities.
In brief, there are essential instances to pursue and the ICC wants a totally vested chief prosecutor who’s able to making these robust selections.
Furthermore, the accusations towards Khan proceed to offer political cowl for international locations dealing with investigation. The Israeli authorities, for instance, has advised that the costs towards Netanyahu and Gallant had been filed to divert consideration from Khan’s alleged habits. That is wealthy, on condition that Israel’s Mossad has been surreptitiously spying on the prosecutor’s workplace, and has threatened each Khan and his predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, for investigating Israeli officers.
When the sexual assault accusations towards Khan had been first made, he might have resigned. As a substitute he denied and contested the allegations, as is his proper. However the ensuing investigation has proceeded at a snail’s tempo. In line with our contacts on the court docket, just one investigator has been assigned, and there was no public account of the findings.
It’s pressing that this investigation be wrapped up expeditiously and the report be made public. If it affirms the allegations, Khan ought to resign. If it rejects them, he ought to resume his tasks. If the info stay unclear, the Meeting of States Events ought to make one of the best evaluation it will possibly of the info, vote on the matter, and resolve it, professional or con. A majority of the members can take away a chief prosecutor. A fast search would then be wanted to establish a substitute.
It’s deeply unlucky that, at a second once we want the ICC to ship justice on this planet’s most difficult locations, it finds itself paralyzed by allegations towards its chief prosecutor. Member states have an obligation to maneuver past this stalemate with out additional delay. The report on Khan’s conduct must be revealed, in full, and the matter definitively resolved.
