Hungary Votes to Stay in ICC  05/27 07:42

   

   BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -- Hungary's parliament voted on Wednesday to remain 
a member of the International Criminal Court, reversing a decision by the 
previous government of Viktor Orban to withdraw from the global tribunal.

   Orban's government announced last year that Hungary would quit the ICC, the 
world's only permanent global court for war crimes and genocide, shortly after 
a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which went ahead 
despite an ICC warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in connection 
with Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

   The ICC and other international organizations criticized Orban's government 
for failing to detain Netanyahu. Orban accused the ICC of becoming a "political 
court."

   Hungary's withdrawal has been set to take effect on June 2.

   The bill to reverse the decision, which was submitted on Monday by Prime 
Minister Peter Magyar, states that in order to maintain international peace and 
protect human rights "it is essential that those who commit the most serious 
international crimes be held accountable before an international judicial 
forum."

   It adds: "To this end, it is necessary to maintain Hungary's participation 
in the Statute of the International Criminal Court."

   The bill was passed largely along party lines, with 133 lawmakers from 
Magyar's ruling Tisza party voting to approve, 37 votes against and five 
abstentions.

   The ICC's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, welcomed Hungary's 
return. In a statement on Monday in anticipation of the vote, the organization 
said it "congratulates the government of Hungary for this important decision."

   Last year, the ICC found that Hungary had failed to comply with its legal 
obligation to arrest Netanyahu. In July, a panel of judges wrote that the 
"failure to arrest suspects severely undermines the court's ability to carry 
out its mandate."

   Hungary was a founding member of the ICC, and Orban himself signed the Rome 
Statute, the treaty that established the court, in 1999.

   If Hungary had withdrawn, it would have been the third country to leave the 
ICC after the Philippines and Burundi. It also would have been the only country 
in the 27-member European Union that is not a signatory to the court.