The large-scale public release of documents known as the 'Epstein Files' has uncovered what independent United Nations human rights experts describe as 'disturbing and credible evidence' of a possible global criminal enterprise involving systematic sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation of women and girls.
According to
a report published by UN News, the experts warned that the alleged conduct detailed in the files could amount to some of the gravest crimes recognised under international law, including crimes against humanity.
In a statement issued on Monday, the independent experts, who serve in their personal capacities under mandates from the UN Human Rights Council and are not UN staff, say the scale, systematic character and transnational reach of the alleged abuses raise serious legal concerns.
“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,” they said.
The experts noted that the conduct described in the files could constitute sexual slavery, reproductive violence, enforced disappearance, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and femicide.
Under international criminal law, crimes against humanity occur when acts such as rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, trafficking, persecution, torture or murder are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with knowledge of that attack.
The experts say the patterns outlined in the disclosed materials may satisfy this threshold and called for prosecutions before competent national and international courts.
The disclosure process was initiated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on 19 November 2025. Following delays, US department of justice (DoJ) released a major tranche of material on 30 January 2026, comprising more than 3mn (million) pages of documents, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
The scale of the release has reignited global scrutiny of the case and renewed calls for accountability.
Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019 at the age of 66 in a New York jail cell, had moved in elite social and political circles that included prominent national and international figures.
He faced criminal investigations in US over allegations that he orchestrated a system to recruit and sexually exploit young girls, many of them minors and in vulnerable circumstances.
His associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and related offences and sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison. Nonetheless, questions remain about the potential involvement of other individuals, financial networks and possible transnational dimensions of the alleged operation.
The UN experts commended survivors for their resilience in pursuing accountability despite significant personal costs. They emphasised 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.
“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,” the experts say.
They further observed that the alleged crimes occurred against a backdrop of supremacist ideologies, racism, corruption, extreme misogyny and the commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls from different parts of the world.
The experts also raised concerns about 'grave errors' in the disclosure process, particularly the exposure of sensitive information relating to victims.
They stressed the urgent need for victim-centred standard operating procedures (SOPs) for document disclosure and redaction to ensure that survivors do not suffer further harm.
“The failure to safeguard their privacy puts them at risk of retaliation and stigma,” the statement warned.
The experts underscored that resignations by individuals implicated in the files are not a substitute for criminal accountability. They welcomed steps taken by some governments to investigate current and former officials and private individuals named in the material, while urging other States to follow suit.
“Any suggestion that it is time to move on from the ‘Epstein files’ is unacceptable. It represents a failure of responsibility towards victims,” they say.
“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 report by UN News highlights that the unfolding disclosures could have far-reaching legal and political consequences, as authorities across jurisdictions assess whether the evidence meets the threshold for prosecution under domestic and international law.
