The network has been developed in response to the international community's request for assistance. Its components provide a variety of technical assistance services within the framework of the United Nations Programme, including advisory services, the exchange of information, research, training, and public education. The Branch and each of the institutes orient their activities according to the needs and interests of their respective constituencies. For this reason, each component has a somewhat different profile. This publication provides background information on each of the constituent agencies so that member states, nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations, and other entities can know what assistance is available. Eleven agencies are described. The format for each description consists of the history of the agency, its organization, and its activities and achievements. Organizations profiled include the Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Japan); the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (Italy); Australian Institute of Criminology (Australia); the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Science (Italy); Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Costa Rica); and Arab Security Studies and Training Centre (Saudi Arabia). Other organizations described are the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control affiliated with the United Nations (Finland); the African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Uganda); the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme (Italy); the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policies (Canada); and the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (Canada).