ICC announces investigation into chief prosecutor
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving its chief prosecutor.
Karim Khan stated that he would cooperate with the investigation and remain in his position while it is ongoing, denying the accusations.
Although Khan had previously requested an inquiry by the court’s internal oversight body, the ICC’s governing body announced on Monday that it would pursue an “external investigation.”
This decision followed media reports of a document detailing accusations against Khan, which are believed to involve unwanted sexual touching and other forms of “abuse.”
Khan affirmed in a statement that he had previously called for an investigation into the matter and expressed his willingness to participate in the process. He also confirmed that he would continue to fulfill all his responsibilities as prosecutor during the investigation.
To ensure fairness, Khan stated that any issues related to the investigation would be handled by deputy prosecutors who do not report to him, safeguarding the rights of all individuals involved.
According to the Guardian, a female lawyer who accused Khan of unwanted sexual advances had expressed concerns about the competency of the ICC’s Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), the body responsible for overseeing such matters.
The paper also reported that Khan responded to a formal sexual misconduct complaint against him by trying to persuade the alleged victim that she should deny the claims, despite having been advised to avoid one-to-one contact.
Mr Khan denied asking the woman to withdraw any allegations, the Guardian reported.
Paivi Kaukoranta, the president of the body charged with overseeing the court, last month said the IOM had been in contact with the alleged victim, but said it was not in a position to proceed with an investigation at that stage.
In a statement on Monday, she defended the IOM’s ability to carry out the investigation but said that “given the particular circumstances,” she did not object to “exceptionally resorting to an external investigation”.
“An external investigation is therefore being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process,” she said.
It comes amid intense scrutiny of the ICC and Mr Khan after the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.
In May, Mr Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity from the day of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October onwards.
Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh have all since been killed by Israel.
In an earlier statement, Mr Khan did not explicitly blame Israel, but did juxtapose the sexual misconduct allegations and efforts to undermine his position when he described this as “a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threat”.
But the sexual misconduct allegations are understood to pre-date his request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.
A panel of three ICC judges is currently considering the arrest warrants requested by Mr Khan.
