In December 1981, through an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Finland, the United Nations European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) was established. HEUNI is the European link in the network of institutes operating within the framework of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program. Its primary objective is to promote the international exchange of information on crime prevention and control among European countries. HEUNI carries out a range of activities which include the organization of seminars and expert group meetings, assisting in the provision of technical assistance, conducting research, and the collection and dissemination of information. In 2003, the projects of HEUNI focused primarily on violence against women, the United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, trafficking in human beings, and the use and application of the United Nations standards and norms. Activities seen in 2003 were in the areas of research, training, information dissemination, and technical assistance and included: (1) completed research project on prisons in Central and Eastern Europe; (2) published paper on trafficking in human beings in Europe; (3) the growth of the HEUNI country profile (Criminal Justice Systems in Europe and North America) by three volumes; and (4) HEUNI as co-publisher of a second book on cross-border crime. HEUNI continues to promote cooperation and strengthen the ties between the work of the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, such as the Council of Europe and the European Union. There were several projects and tasks listed for completion or continuation for the year 2004, such as survey on violence against women, crime trend surveys, trafficking in human beings, law enforcement and domestic violence, prisons, prison health care, drug services in prison, criminal justice reform, crime prevention, treatment of offenders, organized crime, crime and criminal justice sourcebook, crime proofing, and cross-border criminality. In addition, both the 2003 estimated and the 2004 proposed HEUNI budget are presented. References