According to the Guardian newspaper, a lawyer who claims to have been the victim of unwanted sexual advances from Mr Khan had raised concerns about the competence of the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), the watchdog body of the ICC.

The newspaper also reports that Khan responded to a formal sexual misconduct complaint against him by trying to persuade the alleged victim that she should deny the allegations, although she was advised to avoid face-to-face contact. head.

Mr Khan denied asking the woman to withdraw her allegations, the Guardian reported.

Paivi Kaukoranta, president of the body overseeing the court, said last month that the IOM had been in contact with the alleged victim, but said it was unable to continue an investigation at this time. stadium.

In a statement on Monday, she defended the IOM’s ability to carry out the investigation but indicated that “taking into account the particular circumstances”, she was not opposed to “the exceptional use of an external investigation”.

“An external investigation is therefore underway to ensure a completely independent, impartial and fair process,” she said.

It comes amid intense scrutiny from the ICC and Mr Khan after the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants linked to the Gaza conflict.

In May, Mr. Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh carried the criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity from this day forward. of the Hamas attack on Israel from October 7.

Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh have all since been killed by Israel.

In an earlier statement, Mr. Khan did not explicitly blame Israel, but juxtaposed the allegations of sexual misconduct and efforts to undermine his position when he described it as “a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks. and the threat.

But the sexual misconduct allegations allegedly predate his request for arrest warrants related to the Gaza conflict.

A panel of three ICC judges is currently reviewing the arrest warrants requested by Mr. Khan.