Orbán says Hungary is quitting the ICC to end its 'half-hearted' membership

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary was ne'er afloat committed to the International Criminal Court, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said connected Friday, a time aft his authorities announced a determination to discontinue the planetary tribunal for warfare crimes and genocide.

Speaking connected authorities radio, Orbán offered justification for wherefore Hungary did not detain Benjamin Netanyahu connected Thursday erstwhile Israel's premier curate arrived successful Budapest for a authorities sojourn contempt an ICC apprehension warrant.

“Hungary has ever been half-hearted” successful its ICC membership, said Orbán, who connected Thursday said the ICC was “no longer an impartial court, not a tribunal of law, but a governmental court.” Hungary joined the ICC during Orbán’s archetypal word arsenic premier curate successful 2001.

“We signed an planetary treaty, but we ne'er took each the steps that would different person made it enforceable successful Hungary,” Orbán said, referring to the information that Hungary’s parliament ne'er promulgated the court’s statute into Hungarian law.

The court, based successful The Hague, Netherlands, issued a warrant for Netanyahu's apprehension successful November connected suspicion of crimes against humanity for his behaviour of Israel's warfare successful the Gaza Strip. Signatories to the ICC, specified arsenic Hungary, are required to apprehension immoderate suspects facing a warrant if they acceptable ft connected their soil.

The ICC and different planetary organizations person criticized Hungary's defiance of the warrant against Netanyahu. Days earlier the Israeli person received a reddish carpet invited with afloat subject honors successful Hungary's capital, the president of the court’s oversight assemblage wrote to the authorities successful Hungary reminding it of its “specific work to comply with requests from the tribunal for apprehension and surrender.”

Judges astatine the ICC person successful the past dismissed akin arguments that nonaccomplishment to promulgate the court's statute exempts countries from complying with its rulings.

Hungary's determination to permission the ICC, a process that volition instrumentality astatine slightest a twelvemonth to complete, volition marque it the lone state successful the 27-member European Union that is not a signatory to the court. With 125 existent signatory countries, lone the Philippines and Burundi person ever withdrawn from the tribunal arsenic Hungary intends.

The Hungarian leader, regarded by critics arsenic an autocrat and the EU’s astir intransigent spoiler successful the bloc’s decision-making, is seen arsenic utilizing immoderate of the tactics that Netanyahu has been accused of employing successful Israel: subjugation of the judiciary, antagonism toward the EU and cracking down connected civilian nine and quality rights groups.

He is besides an state of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, some critics of the ICC.

In March 2023, the ICC issued an apprehension warrant for Putin for warfare crimes, accusing him of work for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Trump successful February issued sanctions against the tribunal implicit its investigations into Israel's behaviour of the warfare successful Gaza, which began erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting astir 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

Israel's effect has killed much than 50,000 Palestinians, galore of them children. In resuming its violative successful Gaza past month, shattering a ceasefire, Israel halted each imports of food, substance and humanitarian assistance to the territory’s 2 cardinal Palestinians to unit Hamas to merchandise much hostages and judge projected changes to the truce agreement.

___

Molly Quell successful The Hague contributed to this report.