ICC Member States Vote on Karim Khan Removal

Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday, July 24, for a secret ballot to decide whether to terminate the tenure of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan Zand. The vote requires an absolute majority of at least 63 of the 125 member states for removal.

Khan was suspended in June after the court's oversight body found he committed a serious breach of duty and serious misconduct regarding a non-consensual sexual relationship with a junior staffer and Malaysian lawyer. While the Netherlands has announced it will vote for his removal, Khan denies the allegations and his lawyers claim the process is procedurally unfair. He is also currently barred from practicing law in the United Kingdom by the British Bar Standards Board.

Khan cannot attend the meeting in person due to sanctions imposed by the United States government. These sanctions followed the ICC's 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This internal crisis occurs as Washington leads a diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC, which it views as a threat to its sovereignty. Human rights organizations and the European Union have called on member states to defend the court against these external pressures.