A/HRC/4/84 page 9 The Government has also invited a group of international observers in the form of an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons to monitor, provide advice as requested, and report on the Commission’s work.6 25. In this context, the High Commissioner thanked the Government for inviting her to provide advice on the terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry and the observer group in line with international standards. Many of the comments provided by OHCHR were taken into account in establishing the Commission, including the need for witness protection and measures to increase the transparency of the inquiry. The High Commissioner expressed concern, however, over several shortcomings in the national legal system that could potentially hamper the effectiveness of the Commission of Inquiry, particularly the absence of any legal tradition of establishing command responsibility for human rights violations. She noted that many recommendations of past commissions of inquiry, including into disappearances, had not yet been fully implemented.7 26. The High Commissioner underlined that it will be critically important for the Commission to establish not only individual responsibility for crimes, but the broader patterns and context in which they occur. She added that any commission of inquiry can only investigate a selection of cases and a broader international mechanism is still needed to monitor, ultimately prevent, human rights violations in the longer term. At the invitation of the Government, OHCHR has submitted a list of names of suitable candidates who could potentially serve as observers to the inquiry. These persons, if selected, would serve in their personal capacities and would not represent the High Commissioner or OHCHR.8 27. Another notable development for ending impunity has been the commencement of the operations of the International Criminal Court. By the end of December 2006, the Prosecutor had opened investigations into three situations - northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Darfur, Sudan. Regarding the situation in northern Uganda, the first warrants of arrest were issued in 2005 against five commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Regarding the situation in Darfur, the Prosecutor announced in December 2006 that his office was moving towards the completion of the investigation and the presentation of evidence in relation to the first case.9 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Court entered a new phase in its operations with the holding of the confirmation hearings in the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo in November 2006. If the judges confirm the charges, the first trial will be conducted during 2007. 6 See “High Commissioner for Human Rights hopes new inquiry commission on killings and disappearances in Sri Lanka will prove effective”, 6 November 2006, at http://www.unhchr.ch/ huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/67DAEA0611B7C3D0C125721E005F3EA4?opendocument . 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Fourth report of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to the Security Council pursuant to Security Council resolution 1593 (2005), 14 December 2006.