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Khan removed by vote
The International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan from office after concluding in June that he had committed "serious misconduct and serious breach of duty" connected to allegations of sexual abuse.
“Los estados miembros de la Corte Penal Internacional votaron el viernes a favor de destituir a Karim Khan como fiscal tras las acusaciones de conducta sexual inapropiada, según informaron a Reuters dos fuentes diplomáticas”
The vote took place at a special meeting at the UN’s headquarters in New York, where 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted in favour of removing Khan, with 13 voting against and 11 abstaining, according to The Guardian.
DW reported that the oversight body found Khan had committed "serious misconduct and serious breach of duty," and said the decision followed a report by the executive committee that found he had committed "serious misconduct."
Khan, a British barrister elected in 2021 to serve a nine-year mandate, had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his lawyers said he would challenge the decision through legal mechanisms.
The BBC said the decision to remove him was passed with 82 votes in favour, and that the ICC’s oversight body found in June he had committed "a serious breach of duty and serious misconduct" by engaging in an improper sexual relationship and seeking to stop a junior staff member from pursuing her complaint.
Lawyers, critics, and US pressure
In response to the vote, Khan’s lawyer Tayab Ali said the removal was determined by a process in which he was never given a fair opportunity to be heard, and he said the decision was "unsupported by any lawful or properly reasoned finding," according to The Guardian.
DW reported that Ali said on X that "Mr. Khan will challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision, though all available legal mechanisms," while the BBC said it was not immediately clear what legal avenues remained open.
The AP quoted Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, saying the ICC should hold itself to "the highest standards" and ensure "a safe workplace with effective and credible mechanisms available to staff or others who experience abuse".
The BBC also reported that Khan was unable to attend the vote because he is barred from entering the United States under sanctions imposed by the Trump administration over the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by Israeli officials in Gaza.
The Guardian said the warrants for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu issued by judges are unaffected by Khan’s removal, but it also said the court faces renewed threats from the US, with the Trump administration vowing to "systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate."
Elections and institutional stakes
The removal triggers an election process for a new prosecutor, and the BBC said the entire process could reshape the world’s only permanent war-crimes tribunal and could leave supporters fearing the court will emerge weakened and less able to face "the gravest global threats."
“The States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) have decided to remove from office the Prosecutor General Karim Khan”
AP reported that the oversight body will now need to hold elections for a new prosecutor, and it said the person is likely to face sanctions by the Trump administration, which has already brought financial penalties and travel bans on 13 members of staff, including Khan.
The Guardian said the court’s prosecution division, which has about 400 staff, has been left bruised by a protracted scandal and convoluted process to resolve the matter, and it said some in the prosecution division believe one of Khan’s deputies should take over while others feel it needs a fresh start after two years of turmoil.
The BBC said the decision follows a process that included an investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services that ran from November 2024 to December 2025 and generated more than 5,000 pages of evidence and testimony.
In parallel, the AP reported that Venezuela announced it would withdraw from the ICC, quoting Félix Plasencia saying the court’s actions reflect a demonstrated geographical bias that has disproportionately concentrated its work on African and Latin American countries, to the detriment of the Global South.
