ICC Prosecutor Mr Karim A.A. Khan QC appoints Seventeen Special Advisers

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or the "Court"), Mr Karim A.A. Khan QC is pleased to announce the appointment of 17 eminent experts to serve as his Special Advisers pursuant to article 42.9 of the Rome Statute.

The appointments, drawn from different regions of the world with cultural, linguistic and gender diversity, bring on-board rich expertise and experiences from different legal systems and specialisations. These appointments form part of Prosecutor Khan's vision, early in his mandate, to build on what has been accomplished to date and reinforce the Office's capabilities to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate under the Statute, and to strengthen specialisation on a wide range of issues touching upon public international law, sexual violence in conflict, crimes against and affecting children, slavery crimes, amongst other priority areas identified by the Prosecutor.

"I am delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of experts and I am grateful for their willingness to serve as my Special Advisers. I have no doubt that with their enormous experience and hugely impressive credentials, they will significantly contribute to the work of the Office and the cause of international criminal justice. I very much look forward to working with and learning from them.", said Prosecutor Khan.

Prosecutor Khan has created various new posts of Special Advisers for the first time, including portfolios on the Crime of Aggression; the Darfur, Sudan Situation; Gender Persecution; Genocide; International Criminal Law Discourse; Islamic Law; Knowledge Transfer; Slavery Crimes and Public International Law.

He has further appointed Special Advisers Without Portfolio, again a novelty at the Office.  These Special Advisers are as follows:

• Dieng, Adama – Special Adviser Without Portfolio (Bio);
• Othman, Mohamed Chande – Special Adviser Without Portfolio (Bio); and
• Van den Wyngaert, Christine – Special Adviser Without Portfolio (Bio).

The other newly appointed Special Advisers to Prosecutor Khan, their portfolios and biographies are listed below:

• Akhavan, Payam – Special Adviser on Genocide (Bio);
• Aubert, Véronique – Special Adviser on Crimes Against and Affecting Children (Bio);
• Bergsmo, Morten – Special Adviser on Knowledge Transfer (Bio);
• Clooney, Amal – Special Adviser on Darfur (Bio);
• Davis, Lisa – Special Adviser on Gender Persecution (Bio);
• Heller, Kevin Jon – Special Adviser on International Criminal Law Discourse (Bio);
• Kress, Claus – Special Adviser on Crime of Aggression (Bio);
• Lowe QC, Vaughan – Special Adviser on Public International Law (Bio);
• McCormack,  Tim – Special Adviser on War Crimes (Bio);
• Rabb, Intisar A. – Special Adviser on Islamic Law (Bio);
• Sadat, Leila Nadya – Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity (Bio);
• Seelinger, Kim Thuy – Special Adviser on Sexual Violence in Conflict (Bio);
• Sellers, Patricia V. – Special Adviser on Slavery Crimes (Bio); and
• Soufan, Ali – Special Adviser on Investigations (Bio).

The Prosecutor will be looking to appoint additional Special Advisers, in particular from the GRULAC and Asia-Pacific regions.

A meeting will soon be convened by the Prosecutor to plan the work ahead and to coordinate between the respective mandates and portfolios of the newly appointed Special Advisers.

Special Advisers to the Prosecutor are persons with outstanding professional credentials and expertise in their fields. They provide advice to the Prosecutor within their respective mandates as Special Advisers and may assist in training initiatives of the Office. They work on a pro bono basis and are required to sign a confidentiality agreement and are bound by the 'Standards of Conduct' stipulated in, inter alia, Annex I to Administrative Instruction ICC/AI/2016/002.

The Prosecutor seizes the occasion presented by this communiqué to reiterate his sincere appreciation to the Special Advisers who served the Office in the past for their dedication and important contributions.