US and Israel used Karim Khan misconduct claims to 'defang' ICC, says former EU top diplomat Submitted by Sondos Asem on Sat, 07/18/2026 - 16:32 Josep Borrell denounces ICC bureau’s disregard for judicial panel findings and says the removal vote is part of reactions to Khan’s decsion to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to reporters before a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels, 19 November 2024 (Nicolas Tucat/AFP) Off Josep Borrell, the former EU high representative for foreign affairs, has accused the United States and Israel of exploiting sexual misconduct allegations against International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to achieve what he called their long-sought goal of neutralising the court from within. In an article published by Project Syndicate on Friday, Borrell urged ICC member states to uphold due process in their vote on the fate of Khan next week. “Some institutional failures unfold not through scandal but procedure, with acts of sabotage dressed up in the language of good-faith inquiry and accountability,” he wrote.
“By the time anyone notices what is happening, the damage has been done.” “I fear that this is what we are witnessing in attacks against Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Recent developments seem to satisfy goals that the United States and Israel have spent months working toward.” The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (ASP), which is made up of diplomatic representatives from the international court's 125 member states, is due to vote on Khan's future at the United Nations' headquarters in New York City on 24 July. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It comes after the ASP’s executive bureau, a body of diplomats from 21 member states, determined by a two-thirds majority last month that Khan had committed "serious misconduct".
This was despite a judicial panel, appointed by the bureau to review the findings of a United Nations investigation into complaints against Khan, concluding that the evidence against him was insufficient to establish any level of misconduct. Khan has strenuously denied any misconduct or breach of duty. Borell noted that, as exclusively reported by Middle East Eye, the bureau of the ASP has amended the voting process on Khan’s removal from a two-stage vote …
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