ANNAN SUGGESTS COMPLETION OF BOSNIA MISSION IN TWO YEARS

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Hina) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggested on Tuesday that the mandate of the U.N. Mission to Bosnia- Herzegovina (UNMBIH) be completed in December 2002. In a report submitted to the U.N. Security Council, Annan said the mission had achieved significant results which were best proved by the overall improvement of the situation in the country. The safe and successful election bears witness not only to the good work of the OSCE but to the ability of the local police to perform responsible tasks, says the UN Secretary-General. Given the current situation in the country, Annan proposes that the Security Council reduce the number of international police forces (IPTF) to 1,850. He warns, though, that the operation of the local police, IPTF and the Mission requires more funds. This particularly refers to a programme of deployment of minority police officers in an area and the work of the border police, he said. European U.N. member-countries must be aware of the fact that Bosnia-Herzegovina has become a centre of illegal migrations, trade in humans and illegal and stolen goods of a well-organised criminal network, says the report. Annan also urges other member-countries to abundantly support the mission's priority projects and give donations to the Foundation for police assistance programmes. The implementation of the largest part of the mandate by December 2002 will depend on the readiness of international donors to enable the work of the UNMBIH, Annan said. (hina) rml