On the imminent arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hungary, Stephen Bowen, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said:
“This alarming news of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Europe risks making a mockery of all that has been done to create and support an international legal system to protect each and every human being.”
“There is a clear opportunity here for the Irish government to stand up and be counted. The Irish government must publicly demand that Hungary will arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu under the ICC arrest warrant and hand him over to the authorities in The Hague.
“State Parties to the ICC, and especially those like Ireland that have consistently supported the Court’s vital International Justice work, must urgently and publicly call on Hungary to immediately arrest and surrender Mr. Netanyahu should he set food in the country,.
“Now is the time to stand full square and publicly behind the International Criminal Court, and we are concerned that failure to do so will inevitably give succour to those who are actively seeking to undermine its work.
“If this visit is allowed go unchallenged by Ireland, it will grant a licence to other states to defy the Court and undermine the values we hold dear.”