UNITED NATIONS -- Colombia, plagued by a vicious civil war, joined major Latin American nations on Monday to become the 77th nation to ratify the New International Criminal Court, despite the Bush Administration's vigorous campaign against the tribunal.

The court, to try individuals for the world's most heinous crimes, reached 66 ratifications from national legislatures on April 11, which allowed its statutes to take effect on July 1.

Since then 11 more countries have ratified, with Colombia's UN Ambassador, Alfonso Valdivieso on Monday depositing necessary papers from his government, the UN Department of Legal Affairs reported.

Other South American nations that have ratified the treaty include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and Venezuela, among others.

The tribunal, the world's first permanent criminal court, was set up to try individuals for atrocities: Genocide, war crimes and systematic human rights abuses. It is a belated effort to fulfill the promise of the Nuremberg trials 56 years ago in which Nazi leaders were prosecuted for war crimes.

The United States, which fears its soldiers overseas could come before the court, despite numerous safeguards to the contrary, last month won a year's grace period from such prosecution. It did so by threatening to veto all peacekeeping operations in the UN Security Council.

The court is expected to be functioning in The Hague, Netherlands, early next year.

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