In response the acting US alternate representative at the UNSC, John Kelley, used the opportunity to remind Khan of the Donald Trump\u2019s administration sanctions<\/a> on. Kelley accused<\/a> the court of endangering \u201cthe safety and security of [US] citizens\u201d and reiterated the promise to \u201cvigorously use our sanctions tools<\/a> against those who have pursued and facilitated ICC actions against America and our allies, including Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A day after, on Friday 16, 2025, the ICC Public Affairs Unit sent to the media a three-line statement announcing Khan\u2019s \u201cdecision to take leave until the end\u201d of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation on his alleged sexual misconduct. On Sunday, the presidency of the Assembly of the States parties to the ICC said in another statement it \u201cis confident that the work of the Court in the interest of justice, under the leadership of its presidency, the registrar and the deputy prosecutors, continues normally and without any interruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not as if the storm that has just broken was fully unpredictable<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Khan was elected prosecutor by the member states of the court in 2020. The British candidate had broad support, even though he was not on the original shortlist, and had been heavily criticised by some civil society for his previous role as defence counsel successfully stymying the ICC\u2019s investigation in Kenya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When sworn in, Khan promised <\/a>\u201cto foster cooperation and collaboration wherever possible\u201d positioning the court as a part of a wider ecosystem of justice mechanisms and not isolated for the global politics. He was critical of previous practice saying that simply opening new preliminary examinations and investigations was not enough. We \u201ccannot invest so much [\u2026] and achieve so little so often in the courtroom,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The then new prosecutor also promised \u201cto repair what is broken\u201d and in reference to a damning 2020 report<\/a> into morale at the office of the prosecutor declared that \u201cthis office should be the best place in the world to work in\u201d and that his staff \u201chave the right to work in a harassment free environment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drastic changes ensued under Khan\u2019s leadership, including appointing two deputy prosecutors rather than one, and creating a new unified investigation and trial teams. He also modernised the mechanisms for collecting and sifting evidence submitted via the online portal by using extra money from states intended to encourage the Ukraine investigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But for a year now, Khan has been fighting a losing battle to head off allegations of sexual misconduct. He was first forced to publicly refute them last October Khan suggested at that point that the complaint against him could be seen as part of the pressures the court is under: \u201cThis is a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threats\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The original investigation into the allegation \u201creceived by a third party\u201d last May, was held by the court\u2019s Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) which said<\/a> that \u201cno investigation was necessary at this stage\u201d after speaking with the alleged victim, who \u201crefused to explicitly confirm or deny to the IOM the factual basis of what had been reported\u201d and \u201cdeclined to pursue a formal complaint,\u201d meaning that investigators never spoke to Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\t In 2020, an officially appointed Independent Expert Review<\/a> had found that many ICC staff did not trust the court\u2019s own complaint mechanisms and were disinclined \u201cto make complaints freely and willingly about, and to report officially, alleged impeachable conduct, especially by elected or senior officials.\u201d The experts had recommended that investigations of elected officials, like the prosecutor, be conducted by \u201ceminent and experienced non-sitting and independent judges.\u201d But these proposed reforms have yet to be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under pressure, the allegation raised against Khan was reopened in November 2024 and an external investigation<\/a> was ordered by the president of the Assembly of States Parties, P\u00e4ivi Kaukoranta (Finland). It is being conducted by the UN\u2019s OIOS, who will send its report to her. Media have reported that the inquiry\u2019s terms of reference now includes claims that Khan engaged in witness intimidation and retaliation against members of his staff. On Sunday the presidency promised the findings would be handled in a \u201ctransparent manner<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diplomatic sources confirmed to JI that states parties to the ICC had been willing to let the investigation take its course without asking Khan to step aside, but the matter came to a head this week, when media reports<\/a> gave graphic details from the alleged victim\u2019s testimony which went well beyond allegations of harassment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Drop Site an investigative news outlet, \u201cdedicated to exposing the crimes of the powerful\u201d, suggests<\/a> that the woman\u2019s accusations \u2013 including direct quotes from her testimony included \u201cmonths long grooming, psychological coercion, and sexual advances, which eventually escalated into \u2018unwanted\u2019 and \u2018coerced\u2019 sex that lasted nearly a year and continued even after she told Khan that his conduct had left her suicidal. The alleged acts include one episode, in April 2024, in which the prosecutor allegedly attempted to have sex with the woman while she pretended to be asleep in an effort to avoid him\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These reports from several medias put \u201ca totally new momentum\u201d into the process, said one Hague-based diplomat. \u201cThere was a sense that the office of the prosecutor can no longer function as long as [Khan] is around. And that therefore he needs to take a leave of absence\u201d. And the message was passed to Khan that he needed to make the move because otherwise the Assembly of the States parties would be prepared to suspend him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not clear how long Khan will be absent from the court. The OIOS investigation has gone on for half a year and may finish before the summer recess. Several court staff, in addition to Khan and the alleged victim, have been interviewed according to sources familiar with the details. If Khan is found to have committed \u201cserious misconduct\u201d or a serious breach of his duties, he could be voted out on office by the courts\u2019 state members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Combine the cold feet of the courts funders, the reservations expressed by States Parties such as France following the issue of the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, the allegations against the prosecutor and the problems the court has around US sanctions<\/a>, \u201cthis mix is, of course, a total disaster\u201d said one diplomat to Justice Info. The court is waiting to see what may be in further US sanctions, after Trump imposed economic and travel sanctions against Khan in February this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The confluence of the court\u2019s crises has not gone unnoticed, and some were certainly able to rejoice in the prosecutor\u2019s troubles. US Senator Lindsey O. Graham and five co-senators raised, last November<\/a>, questions to the ICC presidency about the combined timing of the \u201cillegal\u201d Palestine arrest warrant applications and the \u201ccloud hanging over the prosecutor and his office\u201d describing them as\u00a0\u201ctroubling\u201d and asking \u201cwhether there may have been a connection\u201d between \u201cthe timing of a cancelled consultation with Israeli officials\u201d and \u201cthe inquiry into allegations of misconduct against prosecutor Khan\u201d. The six US senators asked for \u201cfull transparency on the matter to ensure there is no conflict of interest.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mouin Rabbani, co-editor for Jadaliyya, an online pro-Palestinian magazine, and non-resident fellow of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, is highly critical of the ICC\u2019s Palestine investigation, alleging that Khan had been \u201cdragging his feet\u201d prior to the events of October 7. To Rabbani, Khan has first of all \u201cwaited a very long time to get on with his job\u201d. \u201cSo, the accusation that\u2019s now being made that this whole [Palestinian] case is a sham because he\u2019s trying to cover up allegations of personal misconduct doesn\u2019t really hold much water\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cA harassment free environment\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA wide range of attacks and threats\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
External and \u201ctransparent\u201d investigation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA totally new momentum\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA total disaster\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A \u201ctroubling\u201d timing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lawyers-arguing_Justice-Info-Shutterstock-IA-generated-540x360.jpg\")
<\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t