Malaysia would send a "strong signal" to the international community if it were to deposit the instrument of accession and confirm the 2011 cabinet decision to join the Rome Statute.

The Rome Statute is a treaty drawn up at a diplomatic conference in 1998 which inaugurated the International Criminal Court (ICC) that came into force four years later.

Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, who pushed for Malaysia's accession to the Rome Statute over the reservations of then-attorney-general Gani Patail, said accession now would show that all countries worldwide are united in their efforts "against impunity for mass-atrocity crimes".