Commonwealth puts on united front after summit rifts

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (L), Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (C) and Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Kamalesh Sharma attend the final working session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo Sunday.

Commonwealth leaders agreed on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.

Following a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced that a communique had been agreed by the Commonwealth's 53 member nations after a summit which he said had been characterised by "fruitful discussions".

But he was again forced on the defensive and warned his critics against pushing him "into a corner" by setting an ultimatum to address war crimes allegations by next March.

"I am happy with the outcome we have reached at this CHOGM," said Rajapakse, who has spent much of the summit having to fend off allegations that his government's troops killed as many as 40,000 civilians at the end of the country's 37-year conflict.

Outlining the agreements inked by Commonwealth leaders, he said there had been widespread agreement on a series of issues-particularly on ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of equality.

"Achieving growth with equity and inclusive development must be one of the priorities of the Commonwealth," said the Sri Lankan president.

"Issues covered in the communique include development, political values, global threats, challenges and Commonwealth cooperation."

While only 27 heads of government attended this year's meeting, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the summit had helped strengthen the organisation of mainly English-speaking former British colonies.

"I sense there is a reaffirmation of the spirit and ideals of the Commonwealth ... the core values of the Commonwealth, namely democracy, the rule of law and human rights," Najib told reporters.

The Malaysian prime minister said there was a general recognition among leaders of "the fact that we are different but should not be divided".

"There was a reaffirmation of the spirit and willingness of wanting to stay together as a unique collection of nations."

The summit was dealt several body blows before it began, with the leaders of Canada, India and Mauritius deciding to stay away to protest at Colombo's rights record.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron then stole the limelight on the opening day with a visit to the war-torn Jaffna region, where he met survivors of a conflict that killed more than 100,000 people.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was handing over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth to Sri Lanka, acknowledged "more needed to be done" to address concerns about its rights record but said he wanted to be "good mates" with Colombo.

According to the United Nations and rights groups, as many as 40,000 civilians may have died as troops loyal to the mainly Sinhalese government routed the Tamil Tiger rebel movement in its last stronghold in Jaffna in 2009.