for its vital role in keeping the peace in BiH, a task which it carries out with great professionalism and dedication. SFOR's presence remains essential to maintain the safe and secure environment in which civilian implementation can proceed. It looks forward to this being sustained in the coming year. The Council places on record its gratitude to the troop-contributing nations, and to the individual men and women who have served or are serving with SFOR in the cause of peace.The people of BiH and the international community owe them an enormous debt.

The Council welcomes SFOR's support for civilian implementation. It encourages SFOR to play an active role in this regard in order to speed up progress in civilian implementation and enable BiH to achieve a self-sustaining peace as rapidly as possible. It especially highlights the priority to be given to refugee return in the coming year and the extent to which close co-operation between High Representative, the other civilian agencies and the active involvement of SFOR enables returns to take place. It notes that the High Representative will continue to rely on the support of SFOR in the implementation of his program and looks forward to SFOR's co-operation in this task to the maximum extent possible within its mandate. It urges SFOR contributing nations to give the Commander of SFOR the necessary operational authority over the deployment of their forces under his command within SFOR's mandate.

It particularly welcomes the successful deployment of the Multi-National Specialized Unit (MSU), commends its activities during 1998, and recommends that the deployment of such forces be continued.

7. The Council welcomes the support of UNMIBH in civilian implementation and urges UNMIBH, in particular UNIPTF, to work increasingly closely with the High Representative on police restructuring in coming months

8. The Council expresses its gratitude for the continuing efforts of the UNHCR to promote return of refugees and displaced persons, in co-operation with the High Representative.

9. The Council welcomes the co-operation which the OSCE, and the EASC and the PEC have given to the High Representative. It fully supports the continuation of the practice whereby officials struck off by the High. Representative are barred from running in elections.

10. The Council welcomes the efforts of the High Representative to improve inter-  agency co-operation, and supports his initiative of an assessment, to be conducted by representatives of the Steering Board, of the civilian agencies engaged in peace implementation. It supports efforts to ensure optimal use of resources.

11. A greater degree of budget co-ordination and donor financial planning is required if the International Community is to sustain its financial commitment to Peace Implementation. In addition to the OHR and the Constitutional Court, various other agencies have been established under the GFAP.The Council requests that the High Representative report to the Steering Board as soon as possible on funding requirements for these institutions and agencies so that the Board can set priorities.

12. The Council calls upon member states to continue to provide the High Representative, as well as the other implementing agencies, with highly qualified and

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