23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM ; ) was held in Colombo , Sri Lanka , from 15 to 17 November 2013 . Commonwealth leaders agreed on Sri Lanka as the 2013 host for the meeting when they met in Port of Spain , Trinidad and Tobago , in 2009 . Sri Lanka , which was originally slated to host the summit in 2011 , was accused of committing atrocities during the Sri Lankan civil war and the summit was instead held in Perth , Australia ; Colombo was given the 2013 summit instead . The leaders of Canada , Mauritius , and India boycotted the summit , citing alleged human rights violations by Sri Lanka against its Tamil minority . Protests were also banned during the summit . President Mahinda Rajapaksa summarised the summit 's events as : " Issues covered in the communique include development , political values , global threats , challenges and Commonwealth cooperation . " However , the meeting was overshadowed by controversy over Sri Lanka 's human rights record and the alleged war crimes during the final stages of the civil war . This was the first time in 40 years that the Head of the Commonwealth , Queen Elizabeth II , was not present at the CHOGM
committing atrocities
Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013