The governing body of the International Criminal Court will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. He is accused of alleged sexual harassment. This is reported by Reuters with reference to sources, UNN reports.
In an internal document circulated to member states, Khan is urged to temporarily step down from his role at the permanent war crimes court based in The Hague while the investigation continues
The undated and unsigned document, which Reuters has seen, was distributed to member states by ICC staff.
Khan denied the allegations of misconduct, which were reported to the court's governing body last month. The ICC chief prosecutor then asked the court's own internal control body to investigate them.
Reuters notes, citing sources, that the external investigation was agreed upon at a meeting of the core group of the court's governing body, the Assembly of States Parties, held on November 7.
Reuters could not determine who would conduct the investigation.
Чи вимагатиме Україна від МКС ордер на арешт Кім Чен Ина? Зеленський відповів31.10.24, 18:08
The ICC judges are currently considering Khan's request filed in May for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and Hamas leaders. Khan said the allegations of misconduct coincided with a disinformation campaign against his office.
"An internal document circulated for discussion argued that the court's independent internal conduct review body should have launched a formal investigation into the allegations when they were first reported," the report said.
According to the source, the alleged victim in the Khan case is not confident in the independence of the court's internal body, whose new head is a former member of Khan's staff, as details of reports on alleged misconduct have been leaked.
The document also shows that pressure is mounting on Khan to temporarily resign and allow one of the deputy prosecutors to perform his duties while the investigation continues.
"The prosecutor must resign immediately to pave the way for an independent investigation," the document says.
It is unclear whether the court's governing body asked Khan to do so.
Add
The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression in member states or their nationals.
In September of this year, Kareem Khan claimed that significant progress had been made in bringing vladimir putin to justice for war crimes in Ukraine. However, he emphasized the need for real solidarity from the international community to achieve this goal.
У МКС підтвердили, що Монголія не співпрацювала у питанні арешту путіна24.10.24, 20:27