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ICC deputy prosecutor says US sanctions have hit staff banking but 'not hindered' its work
The US sanctions on the International Criminal Court are beginning to take effect on some staff, deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan says, but she insisted they have not hindered the court's work, which she said has made 'significant progress' since the Gaza war arrest warrants.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 25, 2026
• 4 Min Read
The US sanctions on the International Criminal Court are beginning to take effect on some of its staff, according to Nazhat Shameem Khan, the court's deputy prosecutor - yet she insisted they have not hindered its work. Her account came alongside fresh detail on the Gaza war investigation, where she said there has been "significant progress" since the arrest warrants of November 2024, and on a court order keeping further warrant applications secret.
Rubio's announcement and warning
The sanctions were announced this month by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accused the ICC of being a "rogue court". He gave the court a six-month grace period "to negotiate and present a solution to address our concerns". Rubio also claimed, without evidence, that "globalist 'experts' an ocean away" wanted the ICC to prosecute US citizens.
"Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC."
That declaration came from Rubio as he announced the measures.
Staff hit by banking problems
Although the sanctions are not due to take effect until six months from 9 October, the date of their announcement, some ICC staff have already run into trouble with banks. Khan said banks were "over-complying" to minimise risk while there was uncertainty over the ultimate scope of the measures.
She noted that staff members were experiencing banking difficulties even though the sanctions target institutions, not individuals. Among the practical effects she described:
- •living without a credit card is inconvenient, Khan said, particularly for travel: "Life without a credit card is inconvenient."
- •the US first targeted 13 ICC staff members with sanctions in February 2025, and Khan was one of them
- •her own inconvenience, she said, pales beside that of victims
"We see the faces of our victims for whom sanctions and credit cards are completely irrelevant. They just want justice."
Those were Khan's words on the people the court serves.
Court adapts and keeps working
The ICC has already switched its software from Microsoft to European alternatives, and is negotiating with relevant service providers over banking and health insurance. The court registrar is also in negotiation with the EU over blocking the US sanctions or protecting the court otherwise.
Khan said no investigative decisions have been scaled back. "All the investigations across all situations continue. We haven't made any decision based on the sanctions to reduce our capability," she said.
Support has come from Europe as well: on Thursday the European parliament awarded its Sakharov prize for freedom of thought to the court and its officials. Khan called the support "a very important message that the staff at the court need to hear".
Gaza warrants and the secrecy rule
Khan is co-running the prosecutor's office pending the appointment of a new ICC chief prosecutor. Her predecessor, Karim Khan - a British jurist and no relation to the deputy prosecutor - faced formal investigations from late November 2024 into allegations of sexual harassment, which he denied. He was removed in July this year after a vote by member states.
War crimes arrest warrants were issued in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Galant. Khan said the Gaza war investigation and others had made "significant progress" since those warrants. Yet no further charges over the Gaza war have been announced since late 2024, and Khan said the quiet reflects a court ruling that all charges and applications for warrants should be kept secret until the judges decide they can be made public.
"Even if we reach a stage of the investigations where it might be imminent, we may not discuss it publicly."
That was Khan's explanation of the secrecy rule, under which further applications from the prosecutor remain confidential by order of the court.
On the US claim about prosecuting Americans, Khan said "we certainly haven't brought any Americans before the court" and suggested Rubio's reference may be to the Afghanistan investigation, where the priority is offences committed specifically against women, girls and other vulnerable groups by the Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan. This month the ICC pretrial chamber unsealed four arrest warrants against members of the Taliban on charges of gender persecution.
Khan added that the attention on the court reflects its relevance, saying: "This is a court that provides an avenue of justice for victims who have nowhere else to go."
