GENEVA - The so-called 'Epstein Files' contain disturbing and credible evidence of systematic and large-scale sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation of women and girls, UN experts* said today.
According to the experts, these acts could amount to sexual slavery, reproductive violence, enforced disappearance, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and femicide.
"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 said.
"The 'Epstein Files', which are suggestive of the existence of a global criminal enterprise have shocked the conscience of humanity and raised terrifying implications of the level of impunity for such crimes."
"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.
Under international criminal law, crimes against humanity occur when acts such as sexual slavery, rape, enforced prostitution, trafficking, persecution, torture, or murder are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population with, with knowledge of the attack. The experts warned the components reported patterns may meet this threshold and these crimes must be prosecuted in all competent national and international courts.
"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," they said.
The disclosure process is taking place under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on 19 November 2025. On 30 January 2026, after delays, the Department of Justice released a major tranche of material, including more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
Despite the scale of disclosures, experts warned of serious compliance failures and botched redactions that exposed sensitive victim information, with harm often occurring before records were withdrawn. Accountability has been limited, with only one close associate under investigation. Under international human rights law, States are obligated to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women and girls, including acts committed by private actors.
"The grave errors in the release process underscore the urgent need for victim-centered standard operating procedures for disclosure and redaction, so that no victim suffers further harm," they said.
The experts hailed the courage and resilience of victims in seeking accountability at significant personal cost. A group of these survivors recently met with the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
"The failure to safeguard their privacy puts them at risk of retaliation and stigma. The reluctance to fully disclose information or broaden investigations, has left many survivors feeling retraumatised and subjected to what they describe as "institutional gaslighting."
The experts urged US Authorities to urgently remedy these failures, ensure full disclosure to understand methods of the criminal enterprise, full remedy and reparation for victims for all harms sustained, and end impunity for perpetrators. Statutes of limitations preventing prosecution of grave crimes attributed to the Epstein criminal enterprise must be lifted.
"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.
"Resignations of implicated individuals alone are not an adequate substitute for criminal accountability," the experts said. They welcomed steps by some governments to probe current and former officials and private individuals named in the files. They called on other states to do the same.
"Failure by governments to effectively investigate, and prosecute those responsible for these crimes, including by complicity or acquiescence, where jurisdiction exists, risks undermining legal frameworks aimed at preventing and responding to violence against women and girls," they warned.
"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."
