British human rights lawyer Karim Khan elected as new chief prosecutor of ICC

British human rights lawyer Karim Khan on Friday was elected the new chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Khan will replace Fatou Bensouda at The Hague-based court and is scheduled to start his 9-year-long term on June 16. Khan is a world-renowned human rights lawyer, working for almost every international criminal tribunals in his nearly three-decade-old career. 

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Khan was elected during the nineteenth session of the ICC Assembly of State Parties on Friday, which was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Khan won the second round of voting with 72 ballots in his favour after he failed to garner the majority in the first round. Khan was pitted against Spain's Carlos Fernandez, Ireland's Fergal Gaynor, and Italy's Francesco Lo Voi. Ireland's Fergal Gaynor secured the most number of votes after Khan. In the 123-member organisation, the required majority to win a vote is 62. 

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Congratulatory messages for Khan

Congratulatory messages for Khan poured in from all over the world. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab congratulated Khan for being the UK’s first elected prosecutor to the UN court. "Karim’s extensive experience in international law will be pivotal in ensuring we hold those responsible for the most heinous crimes to account and gain justice for their victims," Raab said. 

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President of the State Parties, Judge O-Gon Kwon, who concluded his term on Friday, also congratulated Khan for getting elected as the chief prosecutor of the ICC. After assuming office in June, Khan will be tasked with leading the Afghanistan war crimes and Israel-Palestine conflict cases. 

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