The International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) governing body has confirmed it is seeking an “external probe” into allegations of sexual misconduct by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) had issued a statement last month confirming that the ASP was looking into the allegations against Khan “on the basis of a third-party report”.
Although Karim has denied the allegations against him saying they are linked to a disinformation campaign against his office, he has stated that he will continue his duties. “I welcome the opportunity to engage in this process,” Khan said in a statement, adding that he “will be continuing all other functions as prosecutor”. He had also indicated that allegations like these were common for someone in his office at the time. “This is a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threats,” Khan said in a statement last month.
In a statement on Monday, Paivi Kaukoranta, president of the ASP, the body overseeing the court said, “After having consulted the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), I am seeking on behalf of the ASP Presidency an external investigation into the matters related to alleged misconduct by the ICC Prosecutor.”
While calling upon all parties to cooperate fully, the statement indicated that the external investigation was “being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process”.
The ASP stated that initially, the ICC’s Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) had been in contact with the alleged victim but was not in a position to move forward with an investigation last month.
The IOM in its annual report released last month, said the incident had been reported in early May. “The alleged affected individual declined to pursue a formal complaint with the IOM, including when it was suggested that any investigation could be referred to an external entity,” the report said, adding that the individual had “refused to explicitly confirm or deny to the IOM the factual basis of what had been reported by the third party”.
Khan has been at the helm of the court’s prosecutions since 2021, including war crimes probes involving Russia and Ukraine, as well as Palestine and Israel. Even before Khan’s application, senior US Republicans penned a letter threatening to bar him and his family from the US. In May, Khan requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his then-defence chief and three Hamas leaders who have since been killed although the request is still pending. Initially criticized for not acting fast enough to prevent atrocities in Gaza, the application for arrest warrants over the war ended the criticism. Khan had also sought and obtained an ICC warrant for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which resulted in himself being slapped arrest warrants.
