Chile formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC). Lima deposited its instrument of ratification to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.

With Chile’s ratification, each of the 13 countries in South America is now a member of the Court in The Hague. In the larger region, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba are the only Spanish-speaking countries in the American continent that have yet to join the ICC.

Chile’s ratification brings the country “in line with the rest of the international community—more than half of which has joined the Court,” said Lorena Fries, President of Humanas, a key civil society actor in the bid to ensure Chilean ratification of the Rome Statute.

“This development also represents the payment of a debt to the Chilean people to guarantee—once and for all—that the grave violations perpetrated during the Pinochet regime will never again be tolerated. As a nation, we can hold our heads high today and celebrate with pride.”

Amnesty International said that "with the ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC, Chile takes a great step for the future, but it does not settle its debt with the past.”

The rights organization adds that “although the ICC does not have jurisdiction to investigate or to prosecute the crimes committed in Chile during the period of the military government (between 1973 and 1990), the recognition of jurisdiction for cases involving genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that could eventually be committed is –definitely- a positive step….”

Chile signed the Rome Statute more than ten years ago on 11 September 1998—only months after the historic adoption of the treaty on 17 July. The country’s ratification process was delayed by a number of legal and constitutional hurdles.

The Rome Statute, which established the ICC, came into force on 1 July, 2002, once 60 countries had become parties. But now, even with 109 state parties, the Court still faces major challenges.

The Court has found it almost impossible to bring some of the suspected war criminals to trial. African member states of the ICC, which make up the largest regional group of the 109 states parties, have condemned the indictment against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and continue to call for a one-year suspension under Article 16 of the Statute.