The ICC and me

The International Criminal Court exists to investigate, and if warranted, to put on trial ‘individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression’.

It is a key arm of international legal accountability, seeking to fracture the impunity that has often been enjoyed by perpetrators of such crimes.

It was established through and is government by a specific law called the Rome Statute. It is a permanent court, unlike for example those that followed conflicts in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. The pursuit of gender justice, advocated and lobbied for by women’s civil society organisations, scholars and activists, is a core element of its mandate.

As a strong proponent of international co-operation and multi-lateral systems I have long been a supporter of the ICC and its work.  I am also especially appreciative of determined women from across the world who fought and succeeded in gaining visibility for crimes committed against women and having it made integral to the court’s mission.

In 2021 I was approached by the ICC Prosecutor to become his Special Advisor on working climate. The Prosecutor saw me as well placed to advise on this issue, presumably due to my previous work on sexual harassment at UN Women and being involved in work across the UN on this issue, as well as writing the UN guidelines on sexual harassment and other related initiatives.  I was delighted to be approached and was keen to undertake this work.

An allegation of sexual harassment against the Prosecutor has roiled his office and the Court since October 2024. Commentary became public when information was published on X in October 2024; since then there has been considerable public speculation, advocacy and sharing of what we would rightly expect to be private or confidential. I first heard of the allegations the day before information went public on X.

Sadly I stepped back from this Advisory role in April 2025 due to the allegations and connected concerns. I know both key parties in this case and I was working with the staff of the Prosecutor’s office when, and for a while after, this story became public.

I remain a supporter of the court, richer for my engagement with it and the staff of the Prosecutor’s office.  I continue to engage with people in and around the Court. The posts I make here concern the case involving the Prosecutor, not as a lawyer (which I am not) but as someone who has worked globally on this issue, has important understandings of dynamics and politics around sexual harassment and as someone who is invested in the future and the strengthening of the Court.  

Only recently have I felt the time is right for me to make public comment on what is happening there and I remain mindful of a process being in play and of people being hurt.  The two key parties in the case are of course known and they feature in the investigation as well as in public debate. But the damage caused by this case and its outcomes, whatever they might be, will have impact far beyond them or even the OtP.

The reputation and credibility of the OtP and the Court are damaged; of special concern is the assessment that victims and survivors of sexual violence in the world make of the ICCs capacity to support their search for justice.

And beyond the institutions of international justice this case illustrates very clearly how sexual harassment os viewed, how strategies of defence, how inv

My brief at the OtP was, and my interest remains in, much more than what I call the 3Ps of sexual harassment most beloved of organisations: a Policy, the declaration of Prohibition and the announcements of Procedures with which to deal with cases. These 3Ps do not and cannot eliminate sexual harassment.  Elimination is our task, including in workplaces; the work is significant and time consuming.  It doesn’t happen overnight with the enactment of the #Ps.   The culture of an organisation and the behaviours that it enables or disables are not distinct – they are intricately inter-related. I seek to reflect on this here and to offer some thoughts on change.