Political parties with racial or religious names will not be registered in future, the Election Commission said today.

The Commission will also look to amend the names of registered political parties with racial or religious names in consultation with the respective parties.

A number of minority political parties with names of a race or religion are registered in Sri Lanka.

A political party is treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of elections under Section 7 of the Parliamentary Elections Act No 1 of 1981 as amended by Parliamentary Elections (Amendments) Act No 58 of 2009.

The Elections Commission publishes a newspaper notice before January 31 every year (if the law has not directed otherwise) calling for applications.

However, if an election is announced during the month of January, the notice is published after the lapse of 30 days from the date of the election.

The DMK, MDMK and CPM have condemned the Indian Government for not voting on the UN resolution raised against Sri Lanka at the United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, New Indian Express said today.

DMK president MK Stalin dubbed the Centre’s act as betrayal of Eelam Tamils.

“The government is indirectly helping Sri Lanka by boycotting the voting on a resolution, which could have promoted reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka,” he added.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko and CPM general secretary K Balakrishnan also slammed the government.

The United States says the long-term security and prosperity of Sri Lanka depends on respecting human rights today and committing to peace and reconciliation for the future.

The US State Department also called on Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights of ​ethnic and religious minorities.

US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter noted that the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution to promote human rights in Sri Lanka.

“The United States co-sponsored this resolution and together with the international community calls on Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights of ​ethnic and religious minorities, human rights defenders, and civil society actors, and to take credible and meaningful steps to address its past, promote reconciliation, and guarantee equal access to justice for all its people,” she said.

Jalina Porter said the resolution expands reporting requirements for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and includes a mandate to collect and preserve evidence for future accountability processes and expresses concern about the trends over the past year.

The resolution on Sri Lanka which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council will take immediate effect with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) beginning the process to closely monitor Sri Lanka, UN sources told Daily Mirror last night.

Monitoring Sri Lanka will be carried out immediately with existing staff while other related work will be implemented once the UN General Assembly approves funding later this year.

The resolution may not have an immediate impact on Sri Lanka but with over 40 cosponsors, sources said that in the long term there could be an impact on trade with some countries and travel restrictions imposed on some officials as a result of the resolution.

The United States, EU and a number of other countries are among the cosponsors of the resolution, some with no voting rights in the UN Human Rights Council.

The resolution has called on the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, including on progress in reconciliation and accountability.

OHCHR has also been told to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session, and a written update at its forty-ninth session and a comprehensive report that includes further options for advancing accountability at its fifty-first session, both to be discussed in the context of an interactive dialogue.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it would require more funds to fully implement the resolution on Sri Lanka.

OHCHR is looking to recruit 12 new employees to work on Sri Lanka. Among them are legal advisors with experience in international criminal justice and/or criminal investigations and prosecutions to coordinate the team and oversee an information and evidence collection strategy, analysts, two investigators/human rights officers and victim support officers.

Director of Programme Planning and Budget Division at the UN, Johannes Huisman said that draft resolution A/HRC/46/L.1/Rev.1, would require an additional one-time requirement of $2,856,300.

He said the funds required to implement the new resolution on Sri Lanka is not in the budget for the year 2021.

In a letter to Goro Onojima, the Secretary of the Human Rights Council, Huisman said that the financial requirements, in accordance with established procedures, would be brought to the attention of the General Assembly at its 76th session.

The resolution seeks OHCHR support for relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in Member States, with competent jurisdiction.

The funds will be required for the process to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence and to develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka, advocate for victims and survivors, and support relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in Member States with competent jurisdiction.

The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has been authorised to collect and preserve evidence of alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka’s long civil war, which ended in 2009.

The UN believes 80,000-100,000 people died in the 26-year conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebel group.

A resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council accused Sri Lanka of “obstructing accountability”.

Sri Lanka described the resolution as “unhelpful” and “divisive”.

The council’s resolution also called for trials of suspects in foreign countries.

Both the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels are accused of atrocities during the conflict.

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Ms Bachelet said: “I welcome the Human Rights Council’s decision to continue its monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka and pursue accountability for past crimes. I salute the courage and commitment of victims from all communities in Sri Lanka in their pursuit of truth and justice.”

She said she hoped Sri Lanka would “change course from its current policies” and “ensure full protection of minorities, human rights defenders and the media”.

In the war’s final few months, the Sri Lankan army pinned the rebels into a strip of north-eastern coast, where the government says the rebels kept thousands of civilians as human shields, exacerbating the death toll.

Yasmin Sooka, a rights lawyer involved in a civil prosecution against Sri Lanka’s current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes, said the resolution was “hugely significant for victims”.

“It really is a recognition that at the domestic level, processes have failed and there is no real hope that victims will access justice,” she told the Reuters news agency.

The push to pass the resolution was led by the UK. It passed by 22 votes to 11, with China and Pakistan among those voting against. There were 14 abstentions, including that of neighbouring India.

Ahead of the vote, the British ambassador Julian Braithwaite said: “We bring this resolution in the hope that it will help advance the human rights of all communities, including Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sinhala or Tamil.

“And more importantly that it will help prevent the recurrence of past grave violations of human rights which the High Commissioner warned this council about in such clear terms.”

The success of the resolution gives Ms Bachelet’s office new staff, powers and a $2.8 million budget to look at Sri Lanka’s war with a view to future prosecutions.

At a press conference in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, the nation’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunewardena said the resolution lacked authority as more nations voted against or abstained than in favour.

“The resolution was brought by countries supported by Western powers that want to dominate the Global South,” he said.

The UN Human Rights Council also expressed alarm at the human rights situation in Sri Lanka today, including a “deepening and accelerating militarisation of civilian government functions”, “the erosion of the independence of the judiciary”, and “increased marginalisation” of Tamil and Muslim minorities.

Analysis

Anbarasan Ethirajan, World Service South Asia Regional Editor

Despite weeks of intense behind-the-scenes diplomatic campaigning, the UN Human Rights Council resolution has gone against the Sri Lankan government.

The new resolution gives more powers to the UN human rights chief to ensure accountability for the alleged war crimes during the conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels which ended in 2009, and the evidence gathered can be used for any future prosecutions.

Sri Lanka is worried that in the long term it may lead to travel and other restrictions on some of the military and civilian officials involved in the war. The government has been defiant, arguing that the resolution cannot be implemented without the consent of the country concerned.

But some Tamil community leaders believe that the UN resolution did not go far enough to impose tougher sanctions on Sri Lanka. For them, their wait to find answers about their relatives missing in the war continues. They want accountability for the thousands of deaths.

The resolution may not satisfy all the parties concerned, but it’s a clear reminder from the international community that the alleged abuses in the Sri Lankan conflict will not be forgotten or ignored.

The United States is among over 40 co-sponsors of the resolution on Sri Lanka which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today.

While the US is not a member of the council with voting rights, it can sign as a co-sponsor.

The resolution has so far been co-sponsored by Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America.

The resolution, titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ requests the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, including on progress in reconciliation and accountability, and to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session, and a written update at its forty-ninth session and a comprehensive report that includes further options for advancing accountability at its fifty first session, both to be discussed in the context of an interactive dialogue.

It further calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to protect civil society actors, including human rights defenders, to investigate any attacks and to ensure a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance, surveillance, insecurity and threat of reprisals.

It also requests the Government of Sri Lanka to review the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and ensure that any legislation on combating terrorism complies fully with the State’s international human rights and humanitarian law obligations.

The resolution also urges the Government of Sri Lanka to foster freedom of religion or belief and pluralism by promoting the ability of all religious communities to manifest their religion, and to contribute openly and on an equal footing to society.

The resolution on Sri Lanka was adopted at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today with 22 voting for, 11 against it and 14 abstentions.