Overview
- The Assembly of States Parties voted by secret ballot to remove Karim Khan for ‘‘serious misconduct and serious breach of duty,’’ with 82 of 125 states backing the dismissal in a vote held on Friday.
- Investigators reported that Khan had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female staffer and tried to discourage her complaint, allegations he denies and says he will legally challenge.
- The ICC says ongoing investigations and existing arrest warrants are not voided and that deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameen Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang will run the Office of the Prosecutor temporarily.
- Chad and Venezuela have formally notified the UN that they will withdraw from the Rome Statute, joining Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in steps that begin a one‑year exit period and reduce the court’s pool of cooperating states.
- The removal and a public U.S. campaign led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pressure members have made the successor search politically fraught, raising near‑term risks to the court’s capacity to carry out prosecutions and deliver justice for victims.