Hungary decided to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it has become political, as its decisions on Israel showed, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
The decision came on the same day as Orban met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. CGTN’s Pablo Gutierrez has the latest from Budapest.
The decision came on the same day as Orban met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. CGTN’s Pablo Gutierrez has the latest from Budapest.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hungary just announced today it is
00:02withdrawing out of the International
00:04Criminal Court. This all comes right
00:06before it hosted Israel's Prime Minister
00:09Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC had issued an
00:13arrest warrant for Netanyahu over
00:15alleged war crimes in Gaza. As a member
00:19of the court, Hungary should enforce it
00:22but Budapest says no chance. The
00:24government points out to a legal loophole.
00:27Hungary signed the ICC treaty in 2001
00:30but never made it part of its national
00:33law. So according to Prime Minister
00:36Viktor Orban there is no way to act on
00:38the warrant. Now legal experts disagree
00:41saying that war crimes fall under
00:44international law which Hungary must
00:46recognize. Orban meanwhile says he knows
00:49the ICC rules, that he was Prime
00:52Minister when Hungary joined the ICC but
00:55for now his government is walking away.
00:57Now parliament, Hungarian parliament
00:59controlled by his party will vote to
01:01make it official. This move could deepen
01:04Hungary's rift with the EU which backs
01:07the ICC. It may also shake its ties with
01:11China, a major economic partner that
01:14supports a two-state solution and has
01:16condemned the war in Gaza. Still Hungary
01:19appears set on strengthening its ties
01:22with Israel. For now Hungary stays firm,
01:25no arrests, no cooperation and soon no
01:30ICC.