A/HRC/12/19 page 14 participant. This may involve physical protection, relocation, measures of disguising identity and ownership, change of identity and pathways, i.e. self-supporting protection measures. In addition, the programme operators will have a duty to ensure that the witness testimony is not affected or tainted by involvement in the programme. In cases of international relocation, information on the witness must be available to the accepting State for necessary assessment, which will be subject to international and/or national laws and policies. Moreover, a witness protection programme should ensure the protection of the confidentiality of the programme and its integrity. 50. Participants in a witness protection programme are likely to have witnessed horrific events and can suffer trauma as a result. Programmes should be designed to deliver medical, psychological and community support to the participants until they are capable of finding their own way. In cases of relocation, starting a new life in a new location may bring with it a range of legal challenges. This highlights the need for access to legal support for participants. Emergencies do arise despite best planning. Thus, arrangements for emergency response are essential. Arrangements for data protection must also form part of the structure of the programme. It is important to develop criteria for eligibility to participate. These criteria, while flexible, must also be objective and transparent to assist in the process of determining who is eligible for the programme. 51. As stated above, the efficient management of programmes to protect at-risk witnesses requires dedicated witness units to negotiate mutual cooperation agreements, secure attendance of witnesses, provide psychosocial support, and to facilitate other measures for witness protection. Witness protection programmes should also be able to act independently from courts. The prevailing wisdom is that such authority must be disconnected from individual prosecutors, investigators or defence counsel, in order to carry out their assessments in an objective way. Regarding the separation of the function of support for witnesses, the Council of Europe recommends that: staff dealing with the implementation of protection measures should be afforded operational autonomy and should not be involved either in the investigation or in the preparation of the case where the witness/collaborator of justice is to give evidence. Therefore, these functions should be separated organizationally. However, an appropriate level of cooperation/contact with or between law-enforcement agencies should be ensured in order to successfully adopt and implement protection measures and programmes.11 52. For the participant, a witness protection programme imposes a stringent regime that must be complied with. The regimes may involve severance from relatives, community, associates and all other aspects of former life; non-contact with any person, organization or institution known prior to entering the programme; loss of control over most aspects of life, in the initial stages at least; a strict contract setting out permissible behaviours; telephone calls and visits only when arranged by the programme on terms established by the programme; living where told by the programme; change of lifestyle; and selling off of assets, perhaps at “fire sale” prices. Failure to 11 Council of Europe, Recommendation Rec(2005) 9 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on protection of witnesses and collaborators of justice, 20 April 2005.