ICC deputy prosecutor says US sanctions disrupt staff but court is making progress

ICC deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said US sanctions had begun affecting staff but had not reduced the court’s capacity to investigate.

Some employees have experienced banking problems, Khan said. She attributed this to banks “over-complying” while trying to limit their exposure before the sanctions’ full scope is known.

The United States announced the measures on 9 October and gave the court a six-month period before they take effect. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the ICC a “rogue court” and said Washington would end it unless the court ended its “threats”.

Progress in the Gaza investigation

Khan said the Gaza war investigation and other cases had made significant progress since arrest warrants were issued in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Galant. Further applications for warrants remain secret under a court order.

She said the lack of public announcements did not mean the Gaza investigation had stopped. The court has ruled that charges and warrant applications should remain confidential until judges decide they can be disclosed.

Court changes its infrastructure

The ICC has moved from Microsoft software to European alternatives and is negotiating with banking and health-insurance providers to reduce the sanctions’ effect.

The new measures target the institution as a whole. The US had previously sanctioned 13 ICC staff members in February 2025, including Khan.

Dispute over US jurisdiction

Rubio claimed without evidence that “globalist ‘experts’” wanted the ICC to prosecute US citizens. Khan said the court had not brought any Americans before it and that the Afghanistan investigation was focused on crimes against women, girls and other vulnerable groups allegedly committed by the Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan.

This month, the ICC’s pretrial chamber unsealed four arrest warrants against Taliban members on charges of gender persecution.

The prosecutor’s office has also been affected by a formal investigation into sexual-harassment allegations against former chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who denied them. Member states voted to remove him in July.