Karim Khan, ICC Prosecutor Since 2021, Explained In 2016 How The ICC's Prosecution, Investigative Focus Are Flawed – This Ship Is 'Not Seaworthy'; International Investigations Are Serious Business, Should Not Be Conducted In The Glare Of The CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera News Cycle (Archival)

International human rights lawyer Karim Khan, who has been the ICC's Chief Prosecutor since 2021, said in an interview posted to YouTube by KTN News Kenya on April 6, 2016 that the ICC's prosecution has been taking "wrong steps," weakening the court. He said that the court is not "seaworthy," that it needs to be "repaired significantly," and that like an alcoholic, the first step is to accept that there is a problem. He said that there is a problem in the investigative process of the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), and he gave the example of how former ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo had handled allegations that Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi had supplied his troops Viagra-like pills in order to encourage mass rape. He said that international investigations are a "serious business" and should not be conducted in the glare of the CNN, BBC World, and Al-Jazeera news cycle.

Karim Khan: "In the end of the day, the court is weaker and international justice is weaker because of these wrong steps of the prosecution. It is easy to keep a ship afloat when it is watertight, but when it is taking in water, you have got to work furiously to throw off water and stay afloat.

"I think Fatou Bensouda [ICC Prosecutor between 2012 and 2022], who I said I have a lot of affection for and respect for, had a massive undertaking to make sure the ship is seaworthy, and I don't think it is seaworthy. I think we want it to be seaworthy. We see there is a flag above it. I don't know which state flies the flag, but it is in international waters. But it is not seaworthy.

"I'm not saying it should be scrapped, but it needs to be put into a dock and repaired significantly. And unless it is repaired significantly, unless you can say: 'That is a hole,' and unless we deal with that hole, it is going to keep on taking in water – not in Kenya, but when it sails to other shores, it will take in the same water, because the same holes are not filled – international justice and the credibility of the ICC will not improve.

"The first... It is like... If you are an alcoholic, the first thing you say is: 'I'm an alcoholic.' You must accept there is a problem. And there is a problem, unfortunately, in the investigative focus of the OTP in the ICC. There is no point in having very good lawyers in the OTP, in their nice black gowns, in court, very nice people, if they have got a dog's breakfast of a case and are trying to peddle a lie, with whatever intentions.

"A case that doesn't stand up... You must get it right in the investigative stage, away from the camera, away from the bright lights. Roll up your sleeves and get to the truth. You can't do that in the CNN news cycle as [ICC Prosecutor between 2003 and 2012 Luis Moreno] Ocampo tried to do, this nonsense about Qadhafi, if you remember, Viagra, to help them [rape]... Of course it is nonsensical, but he was trying to conduct international investigations – serious business – in the glare of the CNN, BBC World, and Al-Jazeera news cycle. That is a recipe for disaster, and that disaster is brought to the ICC."