ICC Assembly votes 82-13-15 to remove prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct claims

The vote

The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court dismissed chief prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday, 24 July 2026, after a closed-door session at United Nations headquarters in New York. The vote was 82 in favour, 13 against and 15 abstentions, comfortably above the absolute majority of 63 required under the Rome Statute. Assembly president Päivi Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat, announced the result, stating that Khan had committed a “serious breach” of his duties.

I trust I can count on your cooperation so that we can manage this matter respecting the privacy of the individual and the Court as an institution.

The meeting began at 10:00 local time with a brief public plenary before moving behind closed doors. A Credentials Verification Committee was appointed, comprising Belize, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ghana, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The Netherlands, host state of the court, had signalled it would vote to remove Khan because the prosecutor must be a person of “high moral integrity”.

The allegations

Khan, a 56-year-old British lawyer of Pakistani origin who took office in 2021 with a nine-year mandate, was accused by a former female colleague of non-consensual sexual contact between March 2023 and April 2024. The alleged conduct occurred during official trips and in premises linked to the Office of the Prosecutor. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services opened an investigation, and Khan temporarily stepped aside in May 2025. In June 2026 the Bureau of the Assembly, the court’s 21-member executive body, recommended his dismissal and suspended him pending the full vote.

Khan has consistently denied any behaviour that could be described as “inappropriate, unwanted or abusive”. His legal team argued that the reports underpinning the investigation, which have not been made public, did not support a finding of misconduct.

The decision is not supported by any legal conclusion or duly substantiated finding.

Political context and Khan’s defence

Khan maintains that the disciplinary process is a campaign to oust him after he requested arrest warrants in May 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza. The court also issued warrants for senior Hamas figures, who were later killed. In February 2025 the United States imposed sanctions on Khan, freezing his assets and barring his entry, in retaliation for the warrants.

The prosecutor of this court has been removed by executive vote while under sanctions and under immense political pressure.

Khan said the procedure violated his fundamental rights and announced he would challenge the decision through “all available legal channels”.

Reactions

Israeli officials welcomed the dismissal. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Khan “corrupt”, while UN ambassador Danny Danon posted on X that the prosecutor’s “political witch hunt against Israel” had failed.

The prosecutor thought his political witch hunt against Israel and his outrageous arrest warrants would distract from the serious allegations of sexual misconduct, but he was wrong.

European Union members Spain, France and Germany were among the states that participated in the vote. The decision is unprecedented for the tribunal, which is tasked with prosecuting genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

What comes next

Khan’s legal team has reserved all rights and intends to contest the legality and fairness of the dismissal. No immediate successor was named. The court, based in The Hague, now faces the task of selecting a new prosecutor while managing ongoing investigations, including the politically charged cases involving Israeli and Hamas leaders.