ICC member states weigh whether to remove prosecutor Karim Khan

On 24 July 2026, the International Criminal Court's 125 member states met at UN headquarters in New York to decide whether prosecutor Karim Khan should be removed from office after allegations of sexual assault against a staff member, which he denies.

Khan, a 56-year-old Briton who has been ICC prosecutor since 2021, stepped back from his duties in May 2025 after an inquiry into the allegations was launched the previous year. He was suspended last month by the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC's governing body. The bureau said at the time that the suspension did not indicate the final outcome.

The decision on whether to relieve Khan of his duties is being put to a secret ballot of the 125 ICC member countries in a closed-door session. An absolute majority decides the vote.

Paivi Kaukoranta, who heads the assembly overseeing the ICC, called the case a complex and sensitive disciplinary matter during a brief public session. She said the assembly should handle it in a way that respects the privacy and rights of the people involved and the court as an institution.

The alleged victim, a Malaysian lawyer who worked as Khan's direct assistant and asked to be identified by her first name Sarah, gave her account to CNN last week. She described an escalation that she said led to physical assault, and said consent was not possible because of the power imbalance between her and Khan.

Khan has categorically denied the accusations. In an open letter published this week on X, his lawyers urged ICC member states not to remove him, saying procedures allowing him to defend himself had not been respected. They said the investigation, which was not made public, did not conclusively prove wrongdoing. They also said removal would send a message that the court's machinery could be used against officeholders when their independence became inconvenient.

The statement appeared to refer to high-profile cases handled by Khan. In 2024, he successfully sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war. The ICC also issued warrants for several Hamas leaders, who have since been killed. Khan and several judges were targeted by US sanctions over the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

Stephan Rapp, a former US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, told AFP that he believed the process may have been imperfect but that the probe was thorough. He said he believed the evidence was sufficient to remove Khan and that the ICC's credibility would be damaged if member states did not do so.