UN rights experts have expressed concerns that flawed Epstein files’ disclosures undermine accountability for crimes against women and girls.

The rights experts, in a statement, demanded accountability, an independent, thorough and impartial investigation, saying “no one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law”.

The large-scale disclosure of the Epstein files has revealed “disturbing and credible evidence”.

The independent human rights experts describe it as a possible global criminal enterprise involving systematic sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation of women and girls.

They warned that the alleged acts documented in the files could amount to some of the gravest crimes under international law.

The reported conduct could amount to sexual slavery, reproductive violence, enforced disappearance, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and femicide, according to the experts.

“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,” said the experts.

They said Epstein’s files shocked the conscience of humanity and raised terrifying implications of the level of impunity for such crimes.

The UN rights experts hailed the courage and resilience of victims in seeking accountability at high personal cost. They stressed that under international human rights law, States are obligated to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women and girls, including acts committed by private actors.

They added, “All the allegations contained in the Epstein files are egregious in nature and require independent, thorough, and impartial investigation, as well as inquiries to determine how such crimes could have taken place for so long.

“These crimes were committed against a backdrop of supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption, extreme misogyny, and the commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls from different parts of the world.”

The experts also noted “grave errors” in the release process, including exposure of sensitive victim information. They highlighted the urgent need for victim-centred standard operating procedures for disclosure and redaction to ensure no victim suffers further harm.

“The failure to safeguard their privacy puts them at risk of retaliation and stigma,” the experts warned.

They further underscored that “resignations of implicated individuals alone are not an adequate substitute for criminal accountability”.

They welcomed steps taken by some governments to probe current and former officials and private individuals named in the files, and called on other States to do the same.

“Any suggestion that it is time to move on from the Epstein files is unacceptable. It represents a failure of responsibility towards victims,” they said. “It is imperative that governments act decisively to hold perpetrators accountable,” the experts said. “No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law.”

Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide at age 66 in August 2019 in a New York jail cell, moved in circles that included national and international politicians, celebrities and business figures.

He faced criminal investigations in the United States over allegations that he operated a system to recruit and sexually exploit young girls.

On January 30, 2026, after several delays, the U.S. Department of Justice released a major tranche of material comprising more than three million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

(NAN)