[4][5] The leaders of Canada, Mauritius, and India boycotted the summit, citing alleged human rights violations by Sri Lanka against its Tamil minority.

[8] President Mahinda Rajapaksa summarised the summit's events as: "Issues covered in the communique include development, political values, global threats, challenges and Commonwealth cooperation.

[10] In response to Cameron's pledge to push for a UN-led investigation into the alleged war crimes unless Sri Lanka credibly addressed human rights concerns by March 2014, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse said: "Why should we have an international inquiry?

"[41] The Defence Secretary and another sibling of the President, Gotabhaya Rajapakse in a response, stated that "there were other countries such as Russia, China and Cuba at the UNHRC who would not support it."

[1][47] In a speech given at a dinner held in honour of the government leaders, Prince Charles spoke in what The Daily Telegraph described as "a pitch for himself as the Queen's eventual successor as head of the organisation."

[1][51] The final communique was issued as the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Development and agreed that eradicating poverty and climate change are major challenges for all countries.

[57][58][59] Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper stated that he would not attend the meeting as a protest at Sri Lanka's alleged failure to improve its human rights record, as he said he would at the previous CHOGM; the Canadian Prime Minister had previously walked out of the 2011 summit during its last day when Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was invited to speak.

[61] Harper further elaborated that Canada might cease its contributions to the funding of the Commonwealth should no action be taken by the organisation against Sri Lanka;[62][63][64] he cited the impeachment of the country's chief justice and the execution and imprisonment of journalists and political opponents of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

[57][65][66][67] Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced his decision not to participate in the event due to pressure from the regional Tamil party regarding Sri Lanka's alleged human rights record.

"[71] In the United Kingdom, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee called on that country's prime minister, David Cameron, not to attend the meeting in light of Sri Lanka's human rights record.

[72] The Channel 4 documentary No Fire Zone, which presented evidence of alleged war crimes by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, had resulted in increased calls for a boycott.

[citation needed] In Malaysia, Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of the state of Penang, and the Secretary General of the Democratic Action Party called on the Malaysian government to boycott the summit as a protest against alleged human violations committed by the island republic against ethnic Tamils there.

The New Zealand Green Party also placed similar calls for a boycott and for the replacement of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Commonwealth Chairperson-in-office for the next two years.

Similar views were floated by South African anti-Apartheid campaigner and Nobel laureate archbishop Desmond Tutu who suggested that the boycott of the CHOGM could be "one of the screws that the world has to apply to help the Tamil population.

[80][81] On 13 November 2013 the Channel 4 News team tried to get to Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka by train but a group of pro-government demonstrators blocked the railway line near Anuradhapura.

[87][88] At 6.30am on 17 November 2013 six immigration officials visited the Channel 4 News crew at their hotel and warned them against violating the conditions laid down in their visas.

[100][101] The Civil Air Services Authority suspended all FitsAir flights to Jaffna Airport between 10 and 18 November 2013, allegedly to restrict foreign access to the north of the country.

[102][103] Of the 53 Commonwealth members, only 27 heads of government/state (nine presidents, 16 prime ministers, one sultan and one governor general) attended the meeting, the lowest in decades.