“We are leaving because we no longer wish to be part of a politicized institution that has forfeited its impartiality,” Szijjártó told lawmakers, referring to the ICC’s recent issuance—and subsequent suspension—of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu, a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, secured a stay of his warrant from the ICC’s Appeals Chamber in The Hague in mid-April, effectively freezing the case pending further hearings.
Under the Rome Statute, withdrawal takes effect 12 months after formal notice to the U.N. secretary-general.
Although Hungary ratified the Statute, it never incorporated it into domestic law.
Budapest has also said it would refuse to arrest ICC indictees such as Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visited.
(jh)
Source: PAP