In a significant development that intersects international justice, political pressure, and institutional debate, International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan is scheduled to deliver his first public address next week at the world-famous Oxford Union, exclusive reporting from Middle East Eye can confirm. This appearance comes nearly a year after Khan stepped away for extended leave, amid a United Nations-led probe into unsubstantiated sexual misconduct claims that Khan has forcefully denied from the start.
Late last month, MEE first broke the news that an independent panel of three veteran international judges — handpicked by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC’s governing oversight body — had completed its review of the UN investigation and reached a unanimous, clear conclusion: no evidence supported any finding of misconduct or breach of professional duty on Khan’s part. Despite this formal clearing by the panel the ASP itself appointed, Khan has not yet resumed his full official responsibilities. Subsequent MEE reporting revealed that a bloc of predominantly Western and European member states voted at a recent ASP bureau meeting to set aside the judges’ independent findings and launch their own separate assessment, drawing directly from the original UN inquiry.
Khan’s legal team has repeatedly called on the ASP bureau to honor the independent panel’s conclusions, and has raised urgent alarms that political motivations, rather than transparent, rule-based legal process, are driving the body’s ongoing deliberations. In an official statement released earlier this month, Khan’s legal representatives emphasized: “That Panel, comprising three highly distinguished international judges and appointed by the Bureau itself, reviewed the entirety of the evidential record over a period of three months and reached a unanimous and unequivocal conclusion: that the material does not establish any misconduct or breach of duty of any kind.” The ASP bureau has scheduled a final ruling on the allegations for early June.
The Oxford Union, an independent student debating society that bills itself as the most prestigious forum of its kind globally, will host Khan at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The event is open to all current Union members, as well as public attendees who purchase entry, MEE has confirmed. While the Union draws its membership primarily from Oxford University students, it operates as an independent private organization separate from the university itself.
Arwa Hanin Elrayess, the Union’s current president, confirmed the invitation to MEE, noting: “We are deeply honoured to host Mr Khan KC at the Oxford Union. At a time when regimes persecute and sanction those who exercise their right to free speech, institutions like ours have a duty to stand firm and ensure those voices are heard. Mr Khan’s commitment to international law in the face of sustained political pressure is a story that speaks directly to the state of international justice today, and ought to be heard.”
Elrayess, a Palestinian-Algerian student originally from Gaza, made history last December when she became the first Palestinian, the first Arab woman, and the first Algerian elected to lead the 200-year-old society. She will serve in the role through the end of the current academic year in July.
The entire misconduct investigation has unfolded against a backdrop of relentless, coordinated pressure targeting both Khan and the ICC as an institution, sparked by the office’s pursuit of war crime charges against Israeli leaders over actions in Gaza. Starting in early 2024, as Khan prepared to file applications for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a widespread intimidation campaign was launched against the prosecutor. The threats included a public warning from then-UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron that the United Kingdom would cut all funding and withdraw its membership from the court if the warrants were issued. When the ICC judges approved the warrants in November 2024, pressure increased, and it escalated again in early 2025 as Khan moved to secure warrants for additional Israeli cabinet members. That surge in pressure coincided with new media leaks of the unproven sexual misconduct allegations, and the Trump administration imposed formal sanctions on Khan in February 2025. Prior to that, U.S. sanctions had already been levied against Khan’s two deputy prosecutors and multiple ICC judges.
MEE reporting from August 2025 detailed the full scope of the intimidation campaign: direct threats to Khan from high-profile global politicians, coordinated briefings damaging Khan’s reputation from close colleagues and family associates, credible safety concerns sparked by intelligence confirming a Mossad surveillance team was operating near the ICC’s headquarters in The Hague, and the steady drip of leaked misconduct claims to international media. Khan took his extended leave in mid-May 2025, shortly after an attempt to suspend him from within his own office failed, and as the UN investigation got underway.
The UN investigation was conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which collected testimony and evidence from both the complainants and Khan. When the independent judicial panel reviewed the OIOS report, however, it found the document “either did not reach conclusive factual determinations or concluded that such determinations were impossible based on the evidence collected.” The panel further noted that the OIOS report relied heavily on hearsay, with no direct evidence of misconduct ever presented. Ultimately, the judges ruled that “there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of misconduct measured against the standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt.”
Middle East Eye, which first broke and has continuously reported on this story, provides independent, on-the-ground coverage of the Middle East, North Africa, and global affairs related to the region.
