ICC Reports 'Significant Progress' as US Sanctions Bite Early

The International Criminal Court's deputy prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, has declared that the court's investigations are making "significant progress" despite new American sanctions — while conceding that some staff already cannot bank normally, six months before the measures formally apply.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions earlier this month, branding the ICC a "rogue court" and issuing a blunt ultimatum: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC." The sanctions target the institution as a whole and take effect six months from 9 October, the date of announcement.

In an interview with the Guardian, Khan — a Fijian jurist co-running the prosecutor's office pending the appointment of a new chief prosecutor — insisted the court's work continues undiminished. "All the investigations across all situations continue. We haven't made any decision based on the sanctions to reduce our capability or reduce our output," she said. She acknowledged, however, that nobody can anticipate the full impact once the measures officially bite.

The takeaway: the court promises business as usual, but its own deputy prosecutor admits the banking system has already moved against it.

What are the sanctions actually doing?

The effects are arriving ahead of schedule. Some ICC staff have encountered banking difficulties, Khan said, even though the sanctions are not due to take effect until April 2026. She attributed the problem to banks "over complying" to minimise risk while the ultimate scope of the measures remains uncertain.

"These are sanctions imposed on the institutions and in principle, our individual members should not be impacted directly," Khan said. "But again, what I am hearing from members of our staff is that some of them are experiencing difficulties in banking."

The court is working to insulate itself. It has switched its software from Microsoft to European alternatives and is negotiating with service providers over banking and health insurance. Khan knows the friction personally: she was among the 13 ICC staff first sanctioned by the United States in February 2025.

"Life without a credit card is inconvenient. It's amazing how many things now we cannot do around the world, particularly in relation to travel, without a credit card," she said, before adding perspective from field visits. "We see the faces of our victims for whom sanctions and credit cards are completely irrelevant. They just want justice."

The takeaway in plain words: institutional sanctions are hitting individual employees first, through banks that will not wait for legal certainty.

What is happening with the Gaza investigation?

Khan said the Gaza war investigation and others had made "significant progress" since arrest warrants were issued in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. No further charges have been announced since late 2024, and she attributed the silence to a court ruling this year requiring all charges and warrant applications to remain secret until judges authorise publication.

"Even if we reach a stage of the investigations where it might be imminent, we may not discuss it publicly," she said. "And so while there might be an appearance that nothing is happening, I can assure you that there's significant progress in that particular situation as well as others."

That claim is unverifiable by design. The secrecy order means the public must take the assurance on trust.

What did Rubio's 'globalist experts' claim amount to?

Rubio claimed, without evidence, that "globalist 'experts' an ocean away" wanted the ICC to prosecute American citizens. Khan said it is unclear who or what he meant. "We certainly haven't brought any Americans before the court," she said, noting that the Afghanistan investigation prioritises offences committed against women, girls and other vulnerable groups by the Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan.

Earlier this month, the ICC pre-trial chamber unsealed four arrest warrants against Taliban members on charges of gender persecution.

The prosecutor's office faces other turbulence. Formal investigations into sexual harassment allegations against former chief prosecutor Karim Khan began in late November 2024; the British jurist, no relation to the deputy prosecutor, denied the charges. Member states voted to remove him in July.

Can Europe shield the court?

The ICC registrar is negotiating with the EU over blocking the US sanctions or protecting the court in other ways. On Thursday, the European Parliament awarded the court its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. Khan called the vocal support "a very important message that the staff at the court need to hear," alongside pledges from states to keep paying contributions.

"I think the fact that there is so much attention on us is a reflection of how relevant we are," Khan said. "This is a court that provides an avenue of justice for victims who have nowhere else to go."

Rubio granted a six-month grace period "to negotiate and present a solution to address our concerns." What would satisfy the administration remains undefined — and Khan's assurances, however firm, cannot be tested until the sanctions take full effect.