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.
