Jakarta – A coalition of legal advocacy groups urged Indonesia Thursday to honor a promise to join the international Criminal Court by 2009.

The world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has the backing of more than 100 countries, including the entire European Union, but just six nations in Asia.

A decree issued under former Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri voted to ratify the court's founding document, the Rome Statute, by the end of 2008, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court said in a statement.

Joining the court "will signify Indonesia's commitment to ending impunity once and for all, and to becoming a truly dignified nation," said Mugiyanto, member of the coalition, which groups together more than 2,500 lawyers and rights groups that support the court's work.

Mugiyanto, who goes by a single name, heads an association for families of people who went missing during Indonesia's 32-year Suharto dictatorship, which ended a decade ago.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

The ICC can investigate allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the states that ratify its treaty. Its jurisdiction is not retroactive. The court relies on individual states or internationally sanctioned peacekeeping troops to make arrests and hand over suspects.