New Delhi: Established in 1874, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) is the world’s second oldest international organisation. Based in Berne, Switzerland, it has 192 member countries and is the main platform for collaboration among postal sector players. The UPU helps ensure a global network of modern products and services and provides advice, mediation, and technical assistance.
The UPU also establishes rules for international mail exchanges and offers recommendations to boost mail, parcel, and financial services volumes while enhancing customer service quality.
History
Before the establishment of the UPU, countries had to negotiate postal treaties with each other, leading to complex and overlapping arrangements. For instance, the United States had a postal treaty with Prussia in 1853, but some states in southern Germany were sending their US-bound mail through France. Negotiations for postal treaties could drag on for years, as seen in the case of the United States and France. An official described France as “no nation in the world more difficult to negotiate with.”
General Postal Union
The United States faced challenges in exchanging mail with Europe. In 1863, the US Postmaster General called for an International Postal Congress in Paris, but the delegates couldn’t agree. The barriers to creating a postal union were eliminated after Germany won the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The German Empire established uniform postage rates and regulations, leading to the Treaty of Bern in 1874. This treaty established the General Postal Union and set out principles for international mail, including a uniform flat rate for mailing a letter anywhere in the world. It also ensured that stamps from member nations were accepted along the entire international route.
Treaty of Bern and Further Developments
The Treaty of Bern was signed by 21 countries, 19 of which were European. The General Postal Union was established and later renamed the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU only used French as its official language until English was added in 1994. The UPU became part of the United Nations in 1948.
Member countries
Any country member of the United Nations can join the UPU. Non-member countries can join if at least two-thirds of UPU member countries approve their request. Currently, there are 192 member countries in the UPU.
Observers
Palestine is an observer state in the UN and was granted special observer status to the UPU in 1999. In 2008, Israel agreed for Palestine’s mail to be routed through Jordan, but this was not implemented as of November 2012. Direct mail delivery to Palestine started in 2016. In November 2018, Palestine signed papers of accession to the UPU. However, its membership application was rejected in September 2019. The vote resulted in 56 countries in support, 23 abstaining, seven countries in opposition, and 106 countries not responding to the request to vote. This fell short of the required two-thirds majority of UPU members, leading to the rejection of Palestine’s membership bid.
UPU consists of 4 bodies
1. The Congress is the highest authority and meets every four years.
2. The Council of Administration ensures the UPU’s work continues between Congresses and oversees its activities.
3. The Postal Operations Council (POC) is comprised of 48 member countries that were elected during Congress. It handles the UPU’s technical and operational aspects.
4. The International Bureau supports the UPU’s bodies by managing logistics and offering technical assistance.
Standards
The UPU’s Standards Board creates and updates international standards to help postal operators share information more effectively. It also encourages compatibility between UPU and international postal projects. The organisation collaborates with postal handle organisations, customers, suppliers, and other organisations, including various international organisations. The Standards Board ensures organisations are developed for electronic data interchange (EDI), mail encoding, postal forms, and meters. UPU standards follow the guidelines in Part V of the “General Information on UPU Standards”. The UPU International Bureau publishes them as part VII of that publication.
World Post Day
World Post Day is celebrated on October 9 every year. It was established by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo to honour the Universal Postal Union (UPU) creation in 1874.
World Post Day aims to raise awareness about the important role of postal services in people’s daily lives and global social and economic development.
To celebrate World Post Day, member countries of the UPU are encouraged to organise their national activities. These activities include introducing or promoting new postal products and services and organising open days at post offices, mail centres, and postal museums.
National winners of the UPU International Letter-Writing Competition are often honoured on October 9.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is part of the United Nations and helps countries around the world coordinate their postal services. It was created in 1874 by the Treaty of Bern. The UPU’s primary goal is to ensure everyone can easily use postal services, no matter where they live. The UPU is based in Bern, Switzerland, the second-oldest international organisation. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
