News / Palestine

ICC’s new Prosecutor Karim Khan sworn in

Wednesday, 16 June 2021 5:03 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 16 June 2021 5:03 PM ]

The file photo, taken on June 4, 2007, shows British lawyer Karim Khan adjust his headphone in the courtroom of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands. (By AP)

British barrister Karim Khan has been sworn in as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and pledged to improve the efficiency of the Hague-based tribunal.

Khan, who was elected by the ICC member states in February, took an oath on Wednesday to serve his nine-year term. He is only the third person to serve as prosecutor at the ICC, which was launched in 2002.

The ICC is probing several tough cases, including the Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians and allegations of war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump authorized sanctions and additional visa restrictions against the Hague-based tribunal personnel probing whether US forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

The sanctions have been lifted, but the US and Israel still share a common stance in opposing the court.

In a speech after being sworn in, the 51-year-old Khan pledged to "build upon the solid ground" left by outgoing prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, "but also to repair what is broken, to rejuvenate, to revive in the quest for greater efficiency and greater impact."

ICC opens investigation into Israeli war crimes

‘The investigation will cover crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that are alleged to have been committed in the Situation since 13 June 2014.’

"Opening preliminary examinations, requesting authorization or commencing investigations is a start, but as we say in English the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We have to perform in trial," Khan said.

"We cannot invest so much, we cannot raise expectations so high and achieve so little, so often in the courtroom."

ICC prosecutors have lost several high profile cases in recent years.

"We need a greater realization of what is required... Building stronger cases and getting better cases in the courtroom."

In March, the ICC opened a formal investigation into Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians, a month after the court confirmed that the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab–Israeli War were subject to its jurisdiction.

Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including over 570 children, were killed during the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza.

Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, has said that the “ICC member countries should stand ready to fiercely protect the court’s work from any political pressure.”

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