COLOMBO, Nov 17: Commonwealth leaders agreed on Sunday on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka that was dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.

Following a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that a communiqué 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 Mr Rajapaksa, who spent much of the time during 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 the meeting, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the summit had helped strengthen the organisation. “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,” he 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”.

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.

Sri Lanka has refused to allow foreign investigators onto its soil, but Prime Minister Cameron warned President Rajapaksa he would lead a push for an international probe through UN bodies unless an internal inquiry produced credible results by March.

Mauritius had been due to host the next summit in 2015 but it withdrew in protest against Sri Lanka’s rights record. Malta would now step in as hosts, the organisation’s top official Kamalesh Sharma announced.—AFP

Frances Bulathsinghala adds: In the communiqué, the heads of government recognised the right to equitable development as an “integral part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

The right to sustainable development, protection of the environment, and access to health, education, food, jobs, shelter, freedom of migration, and international peace and security were portrayed as being inseparable from the more generally accepted human rights such as the right to democracy, tolerance, freedom of expression, the rule of law and good governance. “The Heads emphasised that these values were inter-related and mutually reinforcing,” the communiqué said.

South African President Jacob Zuma told reporters that ways to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015 claimed the attention of the heads most of the time.

The communiqué called for sustainable development. The richer members were asked to keep up or increase their Overseas Development Assistance programmes. Support was extended to the inter-governmental initiatives launched by the UN, so that the MDGs could be attained by 2015. Migration was portrayed as essential for sustainable development.

Since climate change is a major concern for smaller and poorer members, a call was made for easier access to climate change financing. The heads urged the Commonwealth to have a dialogue with G20 and saw possibilities of this happening when Australia takes over as chair of G20 in 2015.

The communiqué declared democracy as an “abiding right” and the rule of law as being “essential”. It called for accountable governments, decentralisation of political structures, freedom of the media and expression, independence of judiciary and separation of powers.

Even as the communiqué unequivocally condemned terrorism and sought international cooperation to battle it, it stressed the need for moderation in the approach to global challenges.