Malta was today unanimously chosen as the host of the next Commonwealth summit in 2015 after Mauritius pulled out in protest against the decision to hold this year’s gathering in Sri Lanka despite an international outcry over alleged rights violations and war crimes.

“The prime minister of Malta has invited the Commonwealth to hold CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) 2015, with Malta as the venue,” Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said at the end of the biennial summit in Colombo.

“It was received by all members with acclamation,” he said.

The offer by the southern European country was accepted by the leaders at the retreat session of the CHOGM.

Malta will rise to the occasion after being selected to host the biennial event, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

Mauritius was to stage the biennial gathering in 2015 but Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam said just ahead of the Colombo summit that it no longer wanted to host the event, citing Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

Sri Lanka is facing mounting global pressure over alleged human rights abuses committed by the army against Tamils during the final phase of nearly three-decade long war against the LTTE that ended in 2009.

The Prime Ministers of India and Canada also stayed away from this year’s summit over the issue.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said the island nation needs time to address the concerns raised after the war.

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