International Criminal Court

Member states of the International Criminal Court voted Wednesday to move forward with formal disciplinary proceedings against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan after reviewing two reports on longstanding sexual‑assault allegations, according to officials familiar with the vote. A United Nations investigative report found a “factual basis” for allegations of sexual misconduct by a female aide and said witness accounts supported her claims, and it further concluded there was evidence Khan retaliated against two officials who first reported the accusations to court oversight bodies. Khan, who has been on leave since May of last year, leads prosecutions that can touch U.S. interests and those of key allies, so a credibility crisis at the top of the ICC has immediate implications for how governments, including Washington, treat the court’s work. The move signals that ICC member governments are unwilling to bury the case and are prepared to subject the court’s top prosecutor to internal accountability mechanisms, even as the full details and potential sanctions remain to be determined.