Unrcpd

What Unrcpd does

UNRCPD (United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific) is a UN regional centre established by UN General Assembly resolution A/42/39D on 30 November 1987 and headquartered in Lalitpur (Kathmandu), Nepal. It is mandated to provide, on request, substantive support to Asia-Pacific Member States for the implementation of peace, security, and disarmament measures, and to coordinate regional activities in these areas. The Centre operates under the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) as one of three regional centres worldwide (alongside UNLIREC in Lima and UNREC in Lome), giving it a chartered monopoly on UN-led disarmament capacity-building across South, Southeast, East Asia, and the Pacific.

UNRCPD's core offerings are non-commercial programmes rather than technology products. The portfolio includes capacity-building and technical assistance workshops (e.g., on UN Security Council Resolution 1540 and the Arms Trade Treaty), annual training courses such as the Disarmament Toolkit run jointly with the Prajnya Trust, fellowship programmes (Youth Champions for Disarmament, the Disarmament and International Security Fellowship with Indian Foreign Service, SALW Fellowship), youth campaigns (Letters4Disarmament, Youth Multimedia Arts Competition), publication resources (newsletters, fact sheets, translated toolkits), and the newly launched Asia-Pacific Disarmament Education Network (APDEN) connecting approximately 30 regional institutions. There are no APIs, no proprietary software platform, and no AI/ML components described in available materials.

UNRCPD operates a non-profit funding model. It does not generate commercial revenue; instead, it is financed through UN member state contributions and voluntary monetary or in-kind donations from a finite coalition of sovereign and supranational backers including China, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand, Nepal, and Germany since 2019. Its go-to-market is direct government engagement combined with strategic partnerships to regional bodies (ASEAN, SAARC, Oceania Customs Organisation) and the other two UN Regional Centres. The current Director, Deepayan Basu Ray, assumed the role on 26 June 2023.

Name

Unrcpd

Legal name

United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific

Website

https://www.unrcpd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UNRCPD is the UN's chartered regional centre providing capacity building, technical assistance, dialogue facilitation, and education on peace and disarmament for Asia-Pacific Member States, headquartered in Kathmandu and funded by voluntary member state contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Peace and Disarmament Services

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), International Affairs (928120), National Security and International Affairs (928)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Peace, Security & Arms Control Organizations (BPADAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA), Security Diplomacy & Defense Cooperation (Arms Control, Counterterrorism) (BPAIAIAH), UN & Regional Peacekeeping Operations (BPADAFAA)

Keywords

• Peace and disarmament
• Arms control capacity building
• Non-proliferation education
• Conventional weapons policy
• Regional security coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Kathmandu

HQ country

Nepal

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UNRCPD provides substantive support, capacity building, and technical assistance to Asia-Pacific member states on peace, security, and disarmament issues. It facilitates dialogue fora, coordinates regional activities, and delivers outreach and education programmes covering conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction, the Arms Trade Treaty, UN Security Council Resolution 1540, and disarmament education for states, youth, and civil society.

Product overview

UNRCPD (United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific) is a UN regional center that provides disarmament education, capacity building, and policy coordination services. Rather than a technology product company, it operates a portfolio of training programmes, fellowship initiatives, youth engagement campaigns, and publication resources. Key offerings include the annual Disarmament Toolkit online course conducted with the Prajnya Trust, the Youth Champions for Disarmament fellowship, the Disarmament and International Security Fellowship with Indian Foreign Service, the newly established Asia-Pacific Disarmament Education Network (APDEN), the Letters4Disarmament youth campaign, periodic newsletters, and a resources library containing translated materials. The organization also runs workshops and seminars on conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction, nuclear non-proliferation, biological weapons, and peace education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Disarmament Toolkit An annual online course run jointly with the Prajnya Trust covering gender and disarmament, weapons of mass destruction, the Sustainable Development Goals, and youth empowerment, aimed at young professionals and practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Youth Champions for Disarmament A fellowship programme that brings youth leaders from across Asia and the Pacific to engage with disarmament and non-proliferation issues, including participation in international forums in New York.
• Disarmament and International Security Fellowship An annual fellowship programme run in partnership with Indian Foreign Service Officer Trainees focused on disarmament and international security capacity building.
• Asia-Pacific Disarmament Education Network (APDEN) A regional community of practice connecting approximately 30 institutions and organizations across Asia-Pacific that produce knowledge, deliver education, shape policy, and implement peace and security initiatives.
• Letters4Disarmament #AsiaPacificYouth A regional digital campaign inviting young people across Asia and the Pacific to write letters to regional leaders about disarmament priorities and actions they commit to taking.
• UNRCPD Newsletter A periodic newsletter featuring news on Centre activities, notable peace, security, and disarmament stories from the Asia-Pacific region, and expert commentary.
• Resources and Publications A library of publications including UNODA updates, disarmament fact sheets, the Global Framework for Through-Life Conventional Ammunition Management implementation guide, and translated materials such as MOSAIC modules and ATT implementation toolkit in local languages.
• Peace and Disarmament Education Programme A programme that supports Asia-Pacific states in delivering peace and disarmament education through baseline assessments, workshops, and initiatives aligned with SDGs 4.7, 5.5, 16.1, and 16.4.
• Youth Multimedia Arts Competition A multimedia arts competition inviting young people across Southeast Asia to express, through photography, traditional art, digital art, and short film/animation, what a world free from nuclear weapons means to them.
• SALW Fellowship Training Programme A fellowship training programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) control that brings practitioners from across the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen capacities to prevent illicit proliferation, misuse, and diversion of such weapons.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting states to strengthen capacity to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1540 on non-proliferation of WMD
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD is a regional centre of UNODA and operates under its mandate. The Centre provides regional support for implementing UNODA's disarmament agenda and coordinates with UNODA's Disarmament Education Dashboard, Youth4Disarmament, and other global initiatives.
• Kingdom of CambodiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD together with the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia organized a Regional Legal Assistance Workshop on the Arms Trade Treaty in Siem Reap, Cambodia on 18-19 November 2014.
• Government of MalaysiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Government of Malaysia hosted the First Asia Regional Meeting to Facilitate Dialogue on the Arms Trade Treaty in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-27 February 2013.
• Government of the PhilippinesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe UNRCPD-facilitated Second Asia Regional Meeting to Facilitate Dialogue on the Arms Trade Treaty was held in Manila, the Philippines on 26-27 November 2013.
• Government of JapancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD jointly with the Government of Japan and the Republic of Korea organizes annual conferences on disarmament and proliferation issues. Japan also funds the Youth Leader Fund for a World without Nuclear Weapons.
• ASEANmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD works with ASEAN to foster collaboration among states and align national efforts with international standards on arms control.
• Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD collaborates with the Oceania Customs Organisation to foster regional collaboration on customs enforcement and arms control.
• SAARCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD works with SAARC to foster collaboration among South Asian states and align national efforts with international standards on arms control.
• UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD collaborates with the other Regional Centres for Peace and Disarmament. UNREC is located in Lome, Togo. The three centres work on complementary regional approaches.
• UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD collaborates with UNLIREC (located in Lima, Peru), the third regional centre. Both centres work on complementary regional approaches to disarmament.
• Prajnya Trust (India)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD jointly organizes the annual 'Disarmament Toolkit' online course with the Prajnya Trust, an India-based NGO. The course covers themes such as gender and disarmament, WMD, SDGs, and youth empowerment.
• Civil Society OrganizationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNRCPD works with civil society organizations to implement disarmament activities, engage youth, and raise public awareness on peace and security issues.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC): Sister UN regional centre for peace and disarmament, covering Africa from Lome, Togo. Operates under an identical mandate and reports to UNODA, making it the most structurally comparable peer to UNRCPD.
• UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC): Third sister UN regional centre covering Latin America and the Caribbean from Lima, Peru. Shares the same UNGA-mandated structure, donor model, and programmatic areas (SALW, ATT, 1540) as UNRCPD.

Broad incumbents

• UNODA Office in Geneva: Geneva branch of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, supporting disarmament diplomacy relevant to the Conference on Disarmament and treaty bodies. Comparable in mandate (disarmament) but serves a global functional rather than regional geographic remit.
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI): Independent research institute providing data and analysis on arms flows, conflicts, and disarmament — the same data SIPRI produced underpins UNRCPD's references to Asia-Pacific arms imports. Overlaps thematically on disarmament research and policy support.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Global think tank with programmes on nuclear policy, non-proliferation, and international security. Comparable mission focus on advancing peace and security through research and convening, though at global rather than regional scope.
• International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS): Global research institute providing analysis on armed conflict, military capabilities, and arms control policy. Comparable on the research and policy-advisory side but commercial in model and headquartered outside the Asia-Pacific focus region.

Emerging players

• Arms Control Association (ACA): US-based non-profit dedicated to arms control and non-proliferation policy analysis and public education. Comparable in mission (advancing disarmament through analysis, advocacy, and education) but operating as an NGO rather than an intergovernmental body.
• Stimson Center: Washington-based think tank with significant programmes on conventional arms, WMD, and non-proliferation. Overlaps UNRCPD on policy research, capacity-building partnerships, and producing substantive analysis to inform disarmament diplomacy.
• Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC): London-based NGO supporting effective implementation of arms control and non-proliferation agreements. Comparable to UNRCPD on technical assistance for treaty implementation and capacity-building for states with weaker compliance infrastructure.

Others

• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO): International organisation monitoring compliance with the nuclear test ban. Shared disarmament mandate but focused specifically on nuclear-test verification rather than broader arms-control capacity building in the Asia-Pacific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UN_Disarmament
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgB7zC4ZlFdGiQdS3G-BR5g
• Facebookfacebook.com/UNODAonline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/un-office-for-disarmament-affairs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Unrcpd