Universal Postal Union
| Union postale universelle Universal Postal Union |
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The UPU flag
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| Abbreviation | UPU |
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| Formation | October 9, 1874 |
| Type | UN agency |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Bern, Switzerland |
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Head
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Bishar Abdirahman Hussein |
| Website | www.upu.int |
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the International Bureau (IB). It also oversees the Telematics and EMS cooperatives. Each member agrees to the same terms for conducting international postal duties. The UPU's headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.
French is the official language of the UPU. English was added as a working language in 1994. The majority of the UPU's documents and publications – including its flagship magazine, Union Postale – are available in the United Nations' six official languages (French, English, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic).
Prior to the establishment of the UPU, each country had to prepare a separate postal treaty with other nations it wished to carry international mail to or from. In some cases, senders would have to calculate postage for each leg of a journey, and potentially find mail forwarders in a third country if there was no direct delivery. To simplify the complexity of this system, the United States called for an International Postal Congress in 1863. This led Heinrich von Stephan, Royal Prussian and later German Minister for Posts, to found the Universal Postal Union. It is currently the third oldest international organization after the Rhine Commission and the ITU. The UPU was created in 1874, initially under the name "General Postal Union", as a result of the Treaty of Bern signed on October 9, 1874. Four years later, the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union."
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Wikipedia