THE HAGUE, Netherlands: Supporters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) met on July 25 to decide what to do next, a day after its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was removed from his position over claims of sexual misconduct.

A long and difficult process ended quickly the day before, when most of the court's 125 member countries voted to remove Khan.

Khan, a British lawyer, was accused of sexual misconduct involving a female aide. He has strongly denied the accusations. According to documents seen by the Associated Press, he had a sexual relationship with the woman and tried to stop her from continuing her complaint.

His removal comes at a time when the ICC is already facing serious challenges. These include efforts by the United States to weaken or shut down the court, which was created to prosecute people responsible for the world's most serious crimes.

On July 24, several countries involved in ICC investigations met privately during the event to discuss how to handle problems caused by Khan's removal. This was confirmed by three senior diplomatic officials who knew about the discussions.

One official said that some countries had already started planning what to do next even before the final vote. The official said that no matter whether Khan stayed or was removed, it was important to bring all members back together.

All three officials spoke anonymously because they were not allowed to speak publicly.

A special meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York was originally planned to last the whole day on July 24. However, a morning proposal that would have made it harder to remove Khan failed. Diplomats then quickly moved to vote, finishing the process several hours earlier than expected, according to three diplomats familiar with the situation.

Iva Vukusic, a researcher at Utrecht University who has been following the case, said she was surprised by how clear the result was. She explained that the voting numbers showed there was more agreement among countries than people had previously believed.

The decision comes at a time of strong pressure on the ICC. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that the United States was starting a major effort to remove what it sees as a threat from the ICC to U.S. independence.

Just hours after the vote, Venezuela announced that it would leave the ICC. The country said the court's work shows unfair geographic bias, according to a statement from its foreign minister, Félix Plasencia.

The administration of Donald Trump had already placed sanctions on Khan and 12 other ICC staff members. This was in response to ICC investigations into Israeli officials related to Gaza and U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

The accusations against Khan became connected to the ICC's investigation into the war in Gaza. Some of his supporters argued that arrest warrants issued by the court against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could be affected.

However, Palestinian representatives rejected this idea. Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi said that the vote to remove the prosecutor was not a political decision linked to any specific case before the ICC.

Khan's removal does not immediately affect the arrest warrants, as only ICC judges can cancel them.

Since Khan stepped down in May 2025, his two deputy prosecutors have been running the office. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that they will continue leading and managing the office until a new chief prosecutor is chosen.

It is still unclear when member countries will select a replacement. The last time a prosecutor was chosen in 2021, the process took nearly 18 months and was criticized by civil society groups for not properly checking candidates' backgrounds to ensure they met high moral standards.

Khan may still challenge his removal. His lawyer, Tayab Ali, said that Khan plans to contest the decision using all available legal options, arguing that the process may not have been fair or lawful.