What is Universal Postal Union? Universal Postal Union Review, Features

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) , abbreviated as "UPU" or "PU", is an intergovernmental international organization for negotiating international postal affairs. Its predecessor was the "General Postal Union" established on October 9, 1874 (changed to its current name in 1878). Its headquarters is located in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

history

Before the establishment of the Universal Postal Union, countries had to make individual postal agreements with other countries that wanted to exchange mail. The United States requested an international postal congress in 1863, which led to the establishment of the Universal Postal Union. The Universal Postal Union is the second largest international organization, second only to the International Telecommunication Union. When the Berne Treaty was signed on October 9, 1874, it was called the General Postal Union, and it was renamed in 1878.

One of the most important results of the Universal Postal Union Treaty was that it was no longer necessary to affix stamps to any country through which a letter or parcel passed; the Universal Postal Union stipulated that member countries' stamps were acceptable on all international routes.

After the establishment of the United Nations in 1946, the Universal Postal Union became its specialized agency.

Founding Purpose

The purpose of the Universal Postal Union is to organize and improve international postal services, to develop international cooperation in the postal field, and to provide postal technical assistance requested by member states within its capacity.

Organization

The Universal Postal Union Congress is the highest authority of the Universal Postal Union. It is usually held every five years and is a working meeting attended by all members. The plenipotentiary representatives sent by each member country attend the congress. The main tasks of the conference are to formulate and amend the laws and regulations of the Union, study and formulate the world postal development strategy, elect the member countries of the Union Administrative Council and the Postal Operations Council, as well as the director and deputy director general of the International Bureau of the Union. The documents adopted by the conference are legally binding on all countries.

In addition to the UPU Congress, the UPU's organizational structure also includes the Administrative Council, the Postal Operations Council and the International Bureau. The Administrative Council is composed of one chair country and 40 member countries. The Postal Operations Council is composed of 40 elected member countries. The Postal Operations Council exercises its powers between two congresses. The International Bureau is the central office established by the UPU headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, led by the Director General and supervised by the Administrative Council, and exercises the functions of liaison, execution, information and consultation.

Subordinate organizations

The UPU has two subordinate organizations. Each has its own independent constitution, organizational structure and purpose:

· EMS Cooperative: Provides global express mail services to customers around the world.

Telematics Cooperative: Establishes or assists countries in establishing postal and telecommunications systems.

member

Before June 1948, the admission of member states was based on a free participation approach; in July 1948, the system was changed to a system where only sovereign states could apply, and must obtain the consent of at least two-thirds of the member states in order to obtain membership.

In 1966, it was changed to: As long as a United Nations member state formally declares its recognition of the Universal Postal Union Constitution and binding regulations, it can become a member of the Universal Postal Union; sovereign states that are not members of the United Nations must still obtain the consent of at least two-thirds of the member states before they can be accepted.

As of December 2014, the Universal Postal Union has 192 member countries, including the Netherlands Antilles, which is not an independent country (Curaçao and Aruba are a single member of the Union) and overseas territories under British control. The latest member to join is South Sudan, which joined on October 4, 2011.

Main Activities

1. Financial services: The provision of basic postal financial services is beneficial to global economic and social development and plays an important role in improving people's living standards.

(1) Global coverage: The postal network, through its global electronic, financial and physical dimensions, ensures that citizens around the world have access to efficient, reliable, secure and affordable electronic payment services.

(2) Global Network: It is the mission of the Universal Postal Union to help build a global electronic postal payment network. In this regard, it has developed a legal framework in the form of the Postal Payment Services Agreement and Regulations, through the Postal Technology Centre, and the International Financial System (IFS), a tool that allows postal operators to offer remittance services.

(3) IFAD Project: The initial project was co-funded by the Universal Postal Union, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and France, where 355 rural post offices in six countries in West Africa were connected to the UPU’s electronic payment network and the volume of money transfers doubled between 2009 and 2010.

(4) Cooperation with the World Bank: With financial support from African remittance institutions, the World Bank’s Payment System Unit has been able to finance a number of support activities in Africa. These include risk analysis of the entire remittance process among the four designated operators, strengthening the operational capacity of the nine operators, and training in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

2. General policy: Many items are discussed at the UPU Congress, including the smooth running of parliamentary sessions, the operation of the International Bureau, the implementation of the Post's current world strategy and the preparation of new strategies for the next cycle. These general policy issues are supervised by the government administration.

3. Postal parcels: The international parcel express market is experiencing rapid growth. The potential for continued expansion is excellent and can provide better development opportunities for e-commerce. The increase in demand for international parcel products is also driven by the reduction of trade barriers and the globalization of business.

4. Technical cooperation: Technical cooperation is an important tool for achieving the strategic goals of the UPU. It helps to reduce the "postal divide" and smooth the transfer of technology between industrialized and developing countries. The Development Cooperation Council of the UPU manages and implements technical cooperation and participates in the design and development of EU policies. The Joint Committee of the UPU Council of Governments and the Postal Operations Council considers the implementation of Congress resolutions on technical cooperation.

5. Postal Economics: Electronic and financial transactions are carried out every day through postal networks, which constitute a medium of communication and economic development. Postal economics studies the economic issues related to these markets, analyzes supply and demand and trends, and compares the implementation of sector policies in different countries.

6. Sustainable development:

(1) Highlights: Sustainable development has become an important factor in postal development. It helps to improve customer relations, develop markets, meet customer expectations, carry out activities in this area, promote personal development of employees, and increase public awareness of social and environmental issues. The work of the Sustainable Development Project Team is to support postal operators in their efforts to incorporate sustainable development into their activities.

(2) Three pillars: The role of the project team, focusing on the three pillars of sustainable development:

① Economic: Implement ethical procurement policies and develop socially responsible financial products such as microfinance and safe, efficient and affordable remittance services for migrant workers and their families.

② Environment: monitor and incentivize operators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to their activities and inform them of carbon offsets, promote the management of natural resources and the use of renewable energy.

③ Social Development and Society: Global AIDS awareness campaigns contribute to the fight against exclusion and discrimination, promote diversity and gender equality in the workplace, and promote social dialogue.

(3) Best Practice: Economic actors pay attention to their environment, their resources and their partners, and the postal sector is committed to sustainable development.

US withdrawal event

Some U.S. officials have criticized the current international postal rate system, saying it is equivalent to a subsidy to China and has also led to a large influx of counterfeit goods and fentanyl into the United States.

On October 17, 2018, the White House announced that the United States would start the process of withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union from now on; if a new agreement with the Universal Postal Union is not reached within the next year, the United States will withdraw . This incident is caused by the current terminal dues system of the Universal Postal Union, which benefits China and other countries and is unfair to the United States.

About China

The Republic of China joined the Union in 1914. Since the Republic of China was a member state, the People's Republic of China severed ties with the Union in 1953. In April 1972, after the Universal Postal Union recognized the People's Republic of China as the only legal representative of the organization, its relations with the organization began to normalize. In November of the same year, China, as a member of the Postal Research and Advisory Council, sent representatives to attend the annual meeting of the Council held in Bern. Since then, China has fulfilled the procedures for accepting the relevant laws and regulations of the Postal Union, participated in the successive Postal Union Congresses from 1974 to 1994, and was elected as Vice President of the Congress and a member of the Postal Operations Council four times. China was elected as a member of the Organization's Administrative Council and Operations Council at the 21st Congress held in Seoul from August 22 to September 14, 1994. On May 9, 1997, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China approved the Fifth Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union. From August 23 to September 15, 1999, the 22nd Congress of the Universal Postal Union was held in Beijing. In September 2004, Huang Guozhong, a candidate recommended by the Chinese government, was elected as Deputy Director General of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union at the 23rd Universal Postal Union Congress held in Bucharest, Romania. On October 6, 2016, at the 26th Universal Postal Union Congress held in Istanbul, Turkey, my country was successfully elected as a member of the new Universal Postal Union Administrative Council and Postal Operations Council.

Important development history

-From September 15 to October 9, 1874, representatives from 22 countries including Germany, France, Britain, Romania, Switzerland and the United States held a Plenipotentiary Conference in Bern, Switzerland, and signed the first international postal convention, the Berne Treaty, establishing the General Postal Union.

-In May 1878, due to the rapid increase in the number of member countries, the "General Postal Union" was officially renamed the "Universal Postal Union". The General Postal Union held its second congress in Paris, revised the "Berne Treaty", and renamed it the "Universal Postal Convention".

-October 9th of each year is designated as "World Post Day".

-On July 1, 1948, the UPU became a specialized agency of the United Nations.

-As of the end of 1984, there were 167 UPU member countries.

- English became the working language of the Postal Union in 1994. The official language remains French.

-As of December 2014, the Universal Postal Union has 192 member countries.