Member states of the International Criminal Court voted Friday to remove the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, following disciplinary proceedings against him.
The vote was held during a special session at UN headquarters in New York and attended by diplomats representing the 125 member states of the Assembly of States Parties, the body that oversees the court. The decision was unprecedented. Removing Khan required an absolute majority of at least 63 of the court's 125 member states.
Eighty-two countries voted in favor of his removal, 13 voted against it and one abstained.
The case against Khan, which has continued for more than two years, centered on allegations by a junior female employee at the court that he had engaged in a nonconsensual sexual relationship with her. The employee repeated her allegations in an interview with CNN last week. Khan's lawyers categorically denied the accusations, saying he rejected any claim that he had had "a sexual relationship of any kind" with her.
"Tried to use Israel as a human shield"
In November 2024, International Criminal Court judges issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, after Khan's office requested the warrants.
Israel immediately challenged the court's jurisdiction, arguing that it had no authority over Israeli citizens. The court subsequently rejected the challenge.
