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(CNN) -- Tunisia, the country where the Arab Spring uprisings began this year, has joined the International Criminal Court, becoming the first North African country to do so.
Tunisia deposited instruments of accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, which means it agrees to abide by the rules of the court.
Tunisia becomes the 116th signatory to the Rome Statute, the governing treaty of the court, which investigates and prosecutes cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The statute "will enter into force for Tunisia" on September 1.
Tunisia also is the 32nd African state, and the fourth member of the League of Arab States, to become party to the Rome Statute. The other three Arab League signatories are Comoros, Jordan and Djibouti.
The ICC welcomed the move, and Christian Wenaweser, president of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, said he hopes other nations will follow Tunisia's example.
"Ratifying this founding document of the International Criminal Court has become a symbol of a country's commitment to the rule of law and the fight against impunity. I am very pleased to see that Tunisia has decided to send this strong message as an expression of a future on the basis of the rule of law," Wenaweser, who is also Liechtenstein's U.N. ambassador, said in a statement.
"Tunisia's accession to the Rome Statute is also a testament of the profound changes brought about by the 'Arab Spring,' which started in Tunisia. It fulfills a central demand of peoples everywhere for societies guided by clear rules and the principle of equality before the law," Wenaweser said.
Amnesty International praised the move.
"This kind of government action gives substance to the courageous actions of ordinary Tunisians who took to the streets to demand an end to abuses and the building of a fundamentally fair and just society," said Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, now in Cairo.
"All countries in the region should follow Tunisia's example by embracing the international legal framework to protect human rights and prevent injustice."
Amnesty said the ICC needs "full cooperation from governments to carry out their own investigations into the most serious crimes under international law."
"The Tunisian government must now give civil society a role in drafting strong national laws that assist in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes," Shetty said.
"Tunisia now has a strong framework for reforming its domestic criminal justice system, which will benefit everyone in Tunisia."
Protests in Tunisia began after the self-immolation in December of a fruit vendor whose cart had been seized by police.
His suicide touched off a firestorm among Tunisians fed up with corruption, high unemployment and escalating food prices, and led to the ouster of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who had been in power since 1987.
Ben Ali fled the country in mid-January, after a revolt that left at least 300 people dead and 700 wounded, a top U.N. human rights expert said last month.
The tumult touched off a wave of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
A Tunisian court sentenced Ben Ali and his wife to 35 years in prison in absentia Monday after a one-day trial on corruption charges. The former ruler and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, have been living in exile in Saudi Arabia since the January revolt that ended his 23-year rule.
The couple faced a total of 93 counts stemming from the discovery of cash, weapons, jewelry and drugs in the presidential palace after the revolt. Of those, 35 counts against Ben Ali and his inner circle -- including murder and torture -- have been referred to a Tunisian military court, the state news agency Tunis Afrique Presse reported.
Tunisia deposited instruments of accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, which means it agrees to abide by the rules of the court.
Tunisia becomes the 116th signatory to the Rome Statute, the governing treaty of the court, which investigates and prosecutes cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The statute "will enter into force for Tunisia" on September 1.
Tunisia also is the 32nd African state, and the fourth member of the League of Arab States, to become party to the Rome Statute. The other three Arab League signatories are Comoros, Jordan and Djibouti.
The ICC welcomed the move, and Christian Wenaweser, president of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, said he hopes other nations will follow Tunisia's example.
"Ratifying this founding document of the International Criminal Court has become a symbol of a country's commitment to the rule of law and the fight against impunity. I am very pleased to see that Tunisia has decided to send this strong message as an expression of a future on the basis of the rule of law," Wenaweser, who is also Liechtenstein's U.N. ambassador, said in a statement.
"Tunisia's accession to the Rome Statute is also a testament of the profound changes brought about by the 'Arab Spring,' which started in Tunisia. It fulfills a central demand of peoples everywhere for societies guided by clear rules and the principle of equality before the law," Wenaweser said.
Amnesty International praised the move.
"This kind of government action gives substance to the courageous actions of ordinary Tunisians who took to the streets to demand an end to abuses and the building of a fundamentally fair and just society," said Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, now in Cairo.
"All countries in the region should follow Tunisia's example by embracing the international legal framework to protect human rights and prevent injustice."
Amnesty said the ICC needs "full cooperation from governments to carry out their own investigations into the most serious crimes under international law."
"The Tunisian government must now give civil society a role in drafting strong national laws that assist in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes," Shetty said.
"Tunisia now has a strong framework for reforming its domestic criminal justice system, which will benefit everyone in Tunisia."
Protests in Tunisia began after the self-immolation in December of a fruit vendor whose cart had been seized by police.
His suicide touched off a firestorm among Tunisians fed up with corruption, high unemployment and escalating food prices, and led to the ouster of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who had been in power since 1987.
Ben Ali fled the country in mid-January, after a revolt that left at least 300 people dead and 700 wounded, a top U.N. human rights expert said last month.
The tumult touched off a wave of uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
A Tunisian court sentenced Ben Ali and his wife to 35 years in prison in absentia Monday after a one-day trial on corruption charges. The former ruler and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, have been living in exile in Saudi Arabia since the January revolt that ended his 23-year rule.
The couple faced a total of 93 counts stemming from the discovery of cash, weapons, jewelry and drugs in the presidential palace after the revolt. Of those, 35 counts against Ben Ali and his inner circle -- including murder and torture -- have been referred to a Tunisian military court, the state news agency Tunis Afrique Presse reported.
