HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2020  Appeal to media institutions on their role to ensure free and fair elections The Commission urged all media organizations to necessarily comply with the Media Guidelines issued by the Election Commission under Article 104b(5)(a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka by way of Gazette Extraordinary No. 2178/24 dated 03 June 2020. Reiterating the guidelines, the HRCSL requested every media institution to refrain from broadcasting, telecasting or publishing material that may promote or induce hatred and intolerance among Sri Lankan people on various grounds including religious beliefs, faith, language, ethnicity, customs, and caste; and to avoid broadcasting, telecasting or publishing propaganda activities that promote hateful politics among political activists and within society. The Commission noted that media organizations have an obligation to provide accurate, balanced, and impartial information to assist the voting public form informed opinions and to refrain from publishing distorted or exaggerated news. 2.4. Vetting of Sri Lankan military personnel to be deployed as UN peacekeepers The HRCSL began the human rights vetting of military personnel to be deployed for United Nations peacekeeping operations in February 2017 at the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka. This process ensures that individuals to be deployed meet the highest standards of integrity, including respect for and commitment to human rights. As there was a lack of procedural rules that govern the vetting process it was decided at a round table discussion in 2018, to formulate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in order to streamline the vetting process. The vetting process was halted until the SOPs were agreed upon by all stakeholders, which ultimately came into effect in December 2018. Due to the halting of the process which resulted in a backlog of applications it was decided by all stakeholders to conduct a double vetting i.e. for the applications were vetted by the Commission as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva in order to expedite the vetting process. This 36