A panel of independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council stated that documents recently released in the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contain serious and ongoing allegations. They believe these could qualify as crimes against humanity and called for an independent investigation into the actions described in the files.
In a statement via Reuters, the U.N. experts noted that the millions of pages of material released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal a global criminal operation involved in systematic sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation across borders. They expressed that the scale and duration of the alleged acts, alongside their repetitive and international nature. Under international law, the treatment of victims could be classified as crimes against humanity.
“The scale, nature, systematic character, and global reach of these atrocities against women and girls is so severe that many may reasonably meet the legal definition of crimes against humanity,” the experts wrote.
Since late January, the Epstein Files became public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This law was enacted by Congress and the White House in November 2025 and requires the Justice Department to release documents related to Epstein’s criminal cases in a searchable format. The first major release of over 3 million pages occurred on January 30, 2026, including thousands of images, videos, and court records.
The U.N. experts reported that the documents reveal alleged abuses within larger frameworks of corruption, supremacist beliefs, racism, and extreme misogyny. They identified victims across multiple continents and years. They urged governments, including the United States, to investigate not only Epstein’s actions and those of his direct associates, but also the systemic issues that may have allowed such crimes to continue for so long without adequate legal or protective responses.
Under international criminal law, crimes against humanity include widespread or systematic attacks on civilians, which can consist of sexual slavery, rape, forced prostitution, trafficking, and other acts if part of a coordinated or organized pattern. The U.N. experts’ statement noted they found “disturbing and credible evidence of systematic and large-scale sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation of women and girls” in the documents, urging that these claims be reviewed impartially.
The experts also questioned how the release of the files was managed. They cited serious redaction errors by the Trump administration that exposed sensitive victim information before some records were briefly removed from public access. They described “serious compliance failures” during the release process that worsened survivors’ trauma. Some vocal victims also criticized the lack of care with the redactions.
The U.N. panel refrained from accusing any foreign government or specific officials of wrongdoing, but stressed that the legal standard for crimes against humanity hinges on whether the documented actions show widespread or systematic attacks on a civilian population. Their call for an independent investigation aims to ensure that evidence from the files is examined free from political biases and that potential legal paths for accountability are considered.
The Justice Department did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the experts’ statement. The department has previously asserted that it released the documents in accordance with the transparency law and that any files containing sensitive information were redacted to protect victims’ privacy.
President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025 after bipartisan support in Congress. The administration has described the document releases as fulfilling its legal requirements. However, lawmakers and advocacy groups from both parties have continued to call for additional unredacted materials and a thorough review of the remaining files. The U.N. experts’ assessment adds new international pressure for a deeper dive into the information being withheld from the public.
