A/HRC/42/66 options for building such a system, it has also, in parallel, obtained the necessary basic information technology hardware that would already allow the Mechanism to begin to receive information, documentation and evidence from certain information providers. 3. Development of policies, standards, protocals, procedures and methods of work 36. In the early stages of its work, the Mechanism will develop policies, standards, protocals, procedures and methods of work to ensure it effectively, efficiently and consistently fulfils its mandate. These would cover the entire implementation process of the Mechanism’s mandate, from the collection, preservation, storage and analysis of information, documentation and evidence to the conduct of investigations and taking of witness testimonies, the preparation of case files, and the sharing of information, documentation and evidence. 37. In particular, it would include policies regarding the handling of physical and electronic evidence to ensure its integrity and preservation, as well as protocols on protecting the security and privacy of witnesses and obtaining the informed consent of cooperating witnesses before their identities are shared with anyone outside the Mechanism. In addition, procedures and methods of work would be designed to minimize the security risks of witnesses and interlocutors, as well their families, which may arise as a result of their interaction with the Mechanism. 4. Frameworks for the transfer of information, documentation and evidence 38. In order to ensure that the Mechanism will be able to receive information, documentation and evidence from all relevant information providers, including Member States, international and regional organizations, United Nations entities and civil society organizations, the Mechanism will also engage with such information providers in order to establish the necessary and appropriate frameworks, including by entering into arrangements or agreements for the transfer of relevant information, documentation and evidence from information providers. Such frameworks will be in accordance with United Nations rules, regulations and established procedures and practices. 39. The frameworks would necessarily take into consideration the possibility that such information, documentation and evidence received may become evidence in the Mechanism’s preparation of case files to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings in the future. Accordingly, the frameworks would seek to address, inter alia, issues of confidentiality, the uses of the information, documentation and evidence, and their possible sharing as evidence in case files with national, regional and international courts. The frameworks would also ensure that any transfer of information, documentation and evidence is in accordance with United Nations rules, regulations, policies and procedures. 5. Collection, preservation and analysis of information, documentation and evidence 40. Before further investigative activities are carried out, the Mechanism plans to receive, collect and analyse information, documentation and evidence held by other entities, and to identify which investigative activities are most likely to lead to prosecutable criminal cases. 41. When accepting information, documentation and evidence from other entities, the Mechanism will be most focused on verifiable facts concerning the events in question (such as witness statements, photographs and videos) rather than any analysis or legal conclusions that the provider may have drawn, or sought to draw, from those facts. The Mechanism will make its own analysis and draw its own legal conclusions with regard to potential criminal cases on the basis of a comprehensive, independent assessment of all available information, documentation and evidence using methodologies accepted in international criminal courts and in most national judicial systems. The Mechanism will also attempt to verify the information, documentation and evidence received through its own supplementary investigation, when deemed necessary or helpful. 7