Commonwealth foreign ministers meeting on Thursday were split over how tough to get on human rights abuses in member countries, an issue which one official said their leaders were unlikely to resolve at a summit later in the week. A confidential report ahead of Friday's summit on the west Australian city of Perth has already warned leaders of the 54-member group of mostly former British colonies that unless they deal with the issue, the Commonwealth could become irrelevant.
A senior Commonwealth official told Reuters the sticking point was whether to appoint a commissioner to tackle political and human rights abuses, a move recommended by an Eminent Persons report to the group but which some members oppose. "The foreign ministers are deeply divided on the issue of a human rights commissioner and will pass it on to the leaders. But the leaders are unlikely to agree," the official said.
Much of the focus has centred on Sri Lanka which has come under heavy pressure to allow an independent inquiry into allegations of war crimes during its 25-year conflict with Tamil Tigers whom it defeated in 2009. Canada, home to a large ethnic Tamil community, is urging fellow members to boycott the next summit in 2013 in Sri Lanka unless the government there improves its human rights record. Sri Lanka has repeatedly dismissed the criticism, saying it will wait for the results of its own investigation next month.