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The British lawyer who defended Kenyan Vice President William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been elected Prosecutor of the Court to replace Fatou Bensouda of The Gambia who is resigning after nine years.
Karim Khan, who is currently leading the UN Security Council-mandated investigation into crimes committed by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, will take office in June.
Mr. Khan successfully represented Mr. Ruto who was facing murder, deportation and persecution charges during the violence following the 2007 elections in Kenya.
He has also been a defense lawyer in various cases at the Yugoslav court and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Mr. Khan was also Legal Adviser in the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
In the second ballot for the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC in New York this weekend, Khan was elected with 72 votes, well above the required majority of 62.
As a criminal lawyer and human rights expert, advocates of international justice hope that these two attributes will help him improve the prosecution’s performance at the ICC.
A West African international justice expert told GNA: “I warmly welcome the election of Mr. Khan.
“I like the fact that he has training in defense and investigation.
“I think he will be fine.”
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter: “Karim’s vast experience in international law will be essential in ensuring that we hold those responsible for the most heinous crimes to account and to obtain justice for their victims. “
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it expects Mr. Khan to “rise to the challenge” facing the ICC.
“Tackling the obstacles it faces is the only way to build support among all stakeholders of the court for its mandate and the ICC as a whole,” said Richard Dicker, director of international justice at HRW.
“The election of Karim Khan as prosecutor comes at a time when the ICC is needed more than ever, but has faced considerable challenges and pressure on its role.
“We will look to Khan to correct shortcomings in the court’s performance, while demonstrating steadfast independence in seeking to hold the most powerful rights abusers to account,” Dicker added.
HRW said Mr. Khan should “fight [the ICC’s] considerable workload given the inability of some ICC member countries to recognize the need for additional resources ”.
Source: GNA
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