- The prosecutor has been accused in British and American media of alleged sexual harassment of a young member of the Prosecutor’s team.
The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested on Monday, November 11, “an external investigation” into “the matters” related to the alleged “misconduct” of prosecutor Karim Khan, who is linked to an alleged case of sexual harassment, marginalizing the internal mechanism due to possible “conflict of interest.”
In a statement, the Assembly, the ICC’s legislative and oversight body, formally requested an “external investigation” into Khan’s “alleged misconduct.”
The prosecutor has been accused in British and American media of alleged sexual harassment of a young member of the Prosecutor’s team, an accusation made based on a report from a third party who claims to have heard the alleged victim talk about the events and that he himself has reported them to the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM).
The Assembly already confirmed on October 24 that this Mechanism “was informed of the matter based on reports from a third party,” but that “after the conversation with the alleged victim, the IOM was not in a position to proceed with an investigation into that matter.” stage”.
According to court sources told EFE, the victim refused to formally report the alleged sexual harassment.
“The IOM follows a victim-centered approach in implementing its mandate and therefore seeks the consent of any alleged victim of misconduct before proceeding with an investigation,” the Assembly stressed last October.
But the Assembly insisted today that, although the IOM “exercises full operational independence” from the ICC and “is competent to investigate such allegations” against Khan, “given the particular circumstances of this case (…) and the perceptions of possible and future conflicts of interest, the IOM has indicated that it has no objection to exceptionally resorting to an external investigation.”
According to sources, a new person will take over as head of the IOM next month and this person has a close link to the prosecutor, which could “discredit” the independence of the investigation.
An external investigation will be carried out to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process, in accordance with the legal framework of the ICC and the IOM, and following a victim-centered approach,” the Assembly said today, calling for all parties involved “to cooperate fully with said investigation.”
From now on, he emphasizes, more information about the case can only be shared “once the investigation is completed.”
Denies accusations
Khan, elected ICC prosecutor since 2021, is carrying out several controversial investigations for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Furthermore, among his most controversial decisions is the issuance of arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin after the war in Ukraine, and the request to judges to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for, among others, other things, the use of hunger as a method of war in Gaza.
Khan himself denies that there is “any truth in the insinuations” against him and denounces that, in the current situation, the ICC and the prosecutor are “subject to a wide range of attacks and threats” for the open cases.
Additionally, on October 28, he asked the Assembly to ask the IOM to “open an immediate investigation” into the “allegations of misconduct” as well as “what appears to be misinformation.”
With information from EFE
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