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Chapter 5: The Alliance's Operational Role in Peacekeeping The Process of Bringing Peace to the Former Yugoslavia   The NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR)     SFOR's Mandate Under UN Security Council Resolution 1088 of 12 December 1996, the Stabilisation Force was authorised to implement the military aspects of the Peace Agreement as the legal successor to IFOR, operating under Chapter VII of the UN Charter (peace enforcement). Rules of engagement adopted for SFOR were the same as for IFOR, authorising the robust use of force if it should be necessary for SFOR to accomplish its mission and to protect itself. The primary task given to SFOR was to contribute to the secure environment necessary for the consolidation of peace. Its specific tasks included: deterring or preventing a resumption of hostilities or new threats to peace; consolidating IFOR's achievements and promoting a climate in which the peace process could continue to move forward; providing selective support to civilian organisations, within its capabilities. It also stood ready to provide emergency support to UN forces in Eastern Slavonia. SFOR's size, with around 31 000 troops in Bosnia, was about half that of IFOR. Building on general compliance with the terms of the Dayton Agreement achieved during the IFOR mission, the smaller-sized force was able to concentrate on the implementation of all the provisions of Annex 1A of the Peace Agreement. This involves: stabilisation of the current secure environment in which local and national authorities and other international organisations can work; and providing support to other agencies (on a selective and targeted basis because of the reduced size of the forces available). In December 1997, NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers took a number of additional decisions in relation to the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Recognising the fragility of the peace, despite positive achievements in several fields, they reiterated NATO's commitment to the establishment of a single, democratic and multiethnic state. They applauded the measures being taken by the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia to facilitate the implementation of the Peace Agreement by using its full authority to promote the resolution of difficulties through binding decisions on issues identified by the Peace Implementation Council. The NAC also acted upon the consensus emerging in the Peace Implementation Council and elsewhere on the need for a military presence to continue beyond the expiry of SFOR's mandate, and requested the NATO's Military Authorities to present options. On 20 February 1998, the Council issued a statement announcing that, subject to the necessary UN mandate, NATO would be prepared to organise and lead a multinational force in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the end of SFOR's mandate in June 1998, and directed the Military Authorities to initiate the necessary planning. The new force would retain the name "SFOR" and would operate on a similar basis, in order to deter renewed hostilities and to help to create the conditions needed for the implementation of the civil aspects of the Peace Agreement. At the same time the Council projected a transitional strategy, involving regular reviews of force levels and progressive reductions as the transfer of responsibilities to the competent common institutions, civil authorities and international bodies became possible. In view of the generally stable situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the North Atlantic Council directed NATO's Military Authorities at intervals since the autumn of 1999 to restructure and reduce the size of the Stabilisation Force. As a result, by the beginning of 2002, force levels had been reduced to approximately 19 000 troops. These forces are provided by 17 NATO member countries and 15 non-NATO countries, including a Russian contingent. For the foreseeable future, an SFOR presence will be needed to ensure the maintenance of a secure environment and to underpin the work being undertaken to further the civilian reconstruction process.