A/HRC/42/66 Furthermore, should serious international crimes that fall within the mandate of the Mechanism be committed in the future, the Mechanism would likely need to adjust its activities and staff planning to respond in an appropriate manner. A. Selection of cases for investigation 10. Like in the situation faced by international criminal tribunals and comparable international accountability mechanisms, the Mechanism will have to make difficult choices of prioritization with regard to the allocation of its limited resources. The Mechanism has a mandate to prepare files with regard to crimes that allegedly were perpetrated through the contributions of large numbers of individuals. Attempting to prepare a large number of individual case files simultaneously is neither efficient nor practical, and would likely result in poor quality results. Therefore, the leadership of the Mechanism will develop strategies on the prioritization of case files, which will determine how the limited resources available should be utilized in order to secure the greatest effect on achieving accountability for serious international crimes, providing the victims of such crimes with the best prospects of justice, contributing through its work to deterrence of further crimes, and seeking to ensure that all the peoples of Myanmar can live safely in their own home communities. 11. Certainly, the scale of the crimes, notably the number of victims affected by the crime, is a paramount factor in case selection. The Mechanism is well aware of the large number of Rohingya now stranded in makeshift refugee camps and who have had to flee to Bangladesh because of alleged international crimes committed against them. Accordingly, the Mechanism, in close coordination with other relevant entities, will prioritize the analysis and investigation of these alleged crimes. 12. The case selection strategy will also take into consideration the impartiality of the Mechanism, namely, that it is concerned with obtaining justice for all those affected by international crimes, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or political views. The case-selection strategy will reflect the fact that the mandate of the Mechanism covers serious international crimes and violations of international law committed anywhere within the entire territory of Myanmar, at any time since 2011. The Mechanism will thus seek to select cases that are appropriately representative of the international crimes committed throughout Myanmar, involving various victim groups within the period of its temporal jurisdiction. B. Accountability for crimes of sexual violence 13. The Mechanism is aware of multiple reports alleging widespread crimes of sexual and gender-based violence, which would fall within the mandate of the Mechanism. Given that societies often stigmatize the victims of sexual and gender-based violence, it is well established that such crimes are almost always significantly underreported, and at times, massively so. The Mechanism will consider these facts within the specific context of its own mandate when selecting and prioritizing the incidents and cases to which it will devote resources. These cases also merit special, victim-centric handling in order to ensure that the investigation does not traumatize victims further, and best facilitates truth-seeking. C. Investigations in order to prepare files 14. In accordance with the way investigations are prioritized, strategies will be developed on how to conduct investigations that would result in files meeting the high standards for criminal prosecution, while still being effective and efficient: essentially, situations whereby the evidence, if tested in fair and credible trials meeting international standards, would be capable of proving the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. 15. A preliminary yet critical task for the Mechansim will certainly be the collection and analysis of information, documentation and evidence provided by other entities, particularly from investigations conducted by international entities, non-governmental organizaions and civil society organizations. The probative value of such information, documentation and evidence and the extent to which they establish the elements of a criminal offence having 3