ICC members vote Friday to remove chief prosecutor Khan

Diplomats representing the 125 member states of the International Criminal Court are voting on Friday, July 24, in a secret ballot at the United Nations headquarters in New York to determine whether to permanently remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from office. The unprecedented vote follows a more than two-year saga involving allegations of sexual misconduct against the 56-year-old British barrister, which he has consistently denied.

The allegations center on accusations from a junior staff member, who gave an interview to CNN last week. She said Khan engaged in escalating nonconsensual physical contact, describing one incident where she alleged he touched her intimately while she pretended to be asleep. Khan’s legal team has denied any sexual relationship, consensual or otherwise, with the woman, calling her account a "complete fabrication."

The vote is the culmination of a complex internal process. Based on a UN investigative report and advice from an ad hoc judicial panel, the ICC’s oversight body found Khan had committed serious misconduct and suspended him from his official duties in June. He had been on voluntary leave since May 2025. Khan and his lawyers have argued the...