Australia has vowed not to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka over allegations of human rights violations.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said it would be counter-productive to skip the summit in November.

"Any suggestion of a boycott would be counter-productive. It would simply isolate the country," he told ABC television late Friday.

"People... in the north, they've told me they have seen former Tamil Tigers -- that is fighters using terrorist means -- are now being rehabilitated, being employed, gainfully employed, being reintegrated into that community," the Australian Foreign Minister said.