With 82 votes in favor, the member states of the International Criminal Court removed the corrupt Pakistani Karim Khan following an investigation into misconduct and abuse of power
In an unprecedented event that marks the end of an era of impunity at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Member States resolved this Friday the immediate removal of chief prosecutor Karim Khan.
The historic decision, made in a closed session at the United Nations headquarters in New York, received overwhelming support from 82 of the 125 Member States, far surpassing the absolute majority of 63 votes required to purge the court of its questioned leadership.
Karim Khan
The downfall of Khan, a 56-year-old British lawyer of Pakistani descent, is due to a series of allegations that point to him not only for his inefficiency and lack of ethics but for having acted as a corrupt facilitator of the Venezuelan tyranny by having stalled the case against dictator Nicolás Maduro.
However, the final blow came from an internal ruling that confirmed a “serious misconduct” related to sexual abuse and harassment.
The details emerging from the investigation are gruesome and expose the moral degradation of the now former prosecutor. According to official documents, Karim Khan maintained an inappropriate sexual relationship with a subordinate lawyer and, in an act of institutional cowardice, attempted to pressure the victim not to file her complaints.
The victim, a Malaysian lawyer identified as Sarah, reported a “escalation of attempts” that led to physical assault. Bravely, the woman stated: “There is no way something can be consensual when there is such a disparity of power”.
Karim Khan and Nicolas Maduro
The outlook for the court was terminal. Stephan Rapp, former U.S. ambassador, was blunt in warning before the vote:
“If you don’t do it, it could be the end of the court”. This pressure added to the criticisms from international figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump, who have questioned the legitimacy of an organization that, under Khan's leadership, seemed more interested in pursuing democracies than punishing tyrants.
The removal of Khan was celebrated by various nations that watched in horror as the prosecutor used his position for personal political ends.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the dismissal as something that came “very late”, suggesting that the recent arrest warrants requested by the prosecutor against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were nothing more than a “diversion attempt from the serious misconduct” that the Brit was trying to hide.
With this dismissal, the International Criminal Court attempts to salvage what remains of its credibility, getting rid of an official who, with 82 votes against him, 13 in favor, and 15 abstentions, exits through the back door of history, leaving behind a trail of corruption and abuse suspicions.
