UN Experts Say Epstein Files Reveal Crimes Against Humanity
Allegations contained in more than 3 million newly released Epstein files may rise to the level of crimes against humanity, according to United Nations human rights experts who say the scale and systematic nature of the abuse described demand prosecution in national and international courts.
In a statement issued this week, independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council said the acts detailed in the documents — including sexual slavery, trafficking, reproductive violence, torture, enforced disappearance and femicide — could meet the strict legal definition of some of the gravest crimes under international law.
“So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character, and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls, that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity,” the experts said.
Files Suggest Widespread and Systematic Abuse
The documents, released in February 2026 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, amount to more than 3 million previously confidential records. They detail allegations involving a network that operated across borders and targeted vulnerable girls and young women from different parts of the world.
Under international criminal law, crimes against humanity include acts such as rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, trafficking, persecution, torture and murder when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, and carried out with knowledge of that attack.
The UN experts said the reported patterns in the files — including recruitment, coercion and exploitation conducted over time and across jurisdictions — may satisfy that threshold.
Renewed Scrutiny Following Maxwell Conviction
The renewed scrutiny comes years after Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and related offences connected to Jeffrey Epstein. She was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison.
While Maxwell’s conviction marked a significant milestone, questions have lingered over whether others allegedly implicated in the broader enterprise will face legal consequences. The UN experts made clear that resignations or reputational damage are not substitutes for prosecution.
“It is imperative that governments act decisively to hold perpetrators accountable. No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law,” the statement said.
Call for International Accountability
The experts stressed that any crimes meeting the threshold of crimes against humanity must be prosecuted in all competent national and international courts. Because the alleged network operated across borders, they said, the response must be equally transnational.
The statement also rejected calls to move past the revelations.
“Any suggestion that it is time to move on from the ‘Epstein files’ is unacceptable. It represents a failure of responsibility towards victims,” the experts said.
Their warning places pressure on governments whose current or former officials may be named in the records, and underscores the potential jurisdiction of international judicial bodies where domestic systems fail to act.
Concerns Over Victim Privacy
Alongside demands for accountability, the UN experts criticized aspects of the disclosure process itself. They pointed to “grave errors” in the release of the files, including the exposure of sensitive victim information.
“The failure to safeguard their privacy puts them at risk of retaliation and stigma,” the statement noted.
Advocates have long warned that survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation often face lasting social and psychological harm. Public disclosure of identifying details can intensify that trauma, particularly in cases involving powerful perpetrators.
A Broader Pattern of Exploitation
The experts situated the alleged crimes within a larger context of what they described as supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption, extreme misogyny, and the commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls. Such conditions, they said, enabled abuse to flourish in plain sight.
Crimes against humanity are often associated with armed conflict or authoritarian regimes. By invoking that standard here, the UN experts signal that systematic sexual exploitation — even outside a traditional war setting — can fall within the same legal category when organised, widespread and deliberate.
Global Implications
Though the case centers on a network that operated primarily in the United States and other countries, the UN experts emphasized its international implications. Victims were drawn from different regions of the world, illustrating how trafficking networks exploit global inequalities and mobility.
For governments worldwide, including smaller jurisdictions such as Malta, the message is clear: robust legal frameworks and cross-border cooperation are essential to confront transnational trafficking and exploitation. The case also highlights the need for strong institutional safeguards to ensure that allegations involving influential figures are investigated independently and without political interference.
As the newly public files continue to be examined, the legal and moral reckoning may extend far beyond the individuals already convicted. The UN experts’ intervention reframes the scandal not merely as a criminal conspiracy, but as a potential chapter in the catalogue of the world’s most serious crimes — one that, they argue, cannot be closed without full accountability.
