Berlin, 24 July 2026. Today, the governing body of the International Criminal Court decided to remove prosecutor Karim Khan from his position with immediate effect.
The decision follows months of investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by Karim Khan against a staff member, as well as allegations of other forms of harassment against staff members of the Office of the Prosector (OTP) in connection with his leadership of the Office.
The sexual misconduct by the head of the Office of the Prosecutor against a subordinate, which was established by the external investigative body, is unacceptable within an institution such as the ICC OTP. The Office is entrusted with the immensely sensitive and challenging task of prosecuting international crimes and regularly engages closely with victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The highest standards of integrity and professional conduct must therefore apply at all levels of the Office.
The decision comes at a time when the ICC is facing intense external pressure and attacks, including sanctions and cyberattacks, in part in response to the arrest warrants it has issued against high-level state leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio even threatened to dismantle the Court “brick by brick.”
These threats, however, must be clearly distinguished from allegations of misconduct raised internally by members of the Court’s own staff. The misconduct allegations and the Palestine Situation are increasingly conflated and instrumentalised in ways that risk undermining both the Court and the seriousness of the allegations themselves. The Court’s work in the Situation in Palestine continues, and the arrest warrants remain in force. Any personal failures of integrity on the part of Karim Khan do not diminish the validity of the arrest warrants or the facts underlying them.
“At times of immense pressure – following important progress by the Court in reducing double standards and in addressing crimes by powerful state leaders for the first time – the Court needs to be strong, resilient and focused from within as well”, says Andreas Schüller, Co-Director of the ECCHR’s International Crimes and Accountability Program.
At the same time, the ICC-ASP needs to review its internal and external processes and complaint procedures to guarantee a fair, victim-centred and clearly defined process. This review should also address decision-making structures as well as underlying thresholds for establishing factual findings.
Additional Material
Filling the information gap: Joint Q&A on the International Criminal Court Prosecutor disciplinary proceedings by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ), Center for Truth & Justice, Global Justice Center, REDRESS, and Synergy for Justice
