Universal Postal Union (UPU) | UPSC Notes

• The Universal Postal Union was created by the Treaty of Bern in 1874. It is a specialised agency of the United countries (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member countries and the worldwide postal system.

• The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is the world’s second-oldest foreign group.

• The UPU’s main office is in Bern, Switzerland.

• The organisation, which has 192 countries as members, gives advice, acts as a mediator, keeps people in touch, and gives technical help where it’s needed.

• The union sets the rules for how foreign mail is sent and received. It also makes suggestions to increase the amount of mail, packages, and financial services and improve the quality of service for customers.

In 1876, India joined the UPU.

• The UPU is made up of four groups: the Congress, the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council, and the International Bureau.

Member Countries

• Any country that is a member of the United Nations can join the UPU.

• A country that is not a member of the United Nations can also join if two-thirds of the UPU member countries agree to it.

• The UPU has 192 members right now: 190 states and two groups of dependent countries that are both members.

Functions of UPU

• The Universal Postal Union (UPU) was set up to make sure that all countries follow the rules about how to send and receive mail.

It makes rules for the exchange of mail between countries and sets prices for foreign mail services.

It helps make sure that everyone has access to goods and services that are up to date.

UPU makes suggestions for growing mail, parcel, and financial services and improving the level of service for customers. It is also in charge of the Telematics and Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives.

Recent Developments

• The Union Cabinet agreed to ratify the changes to the UPU’s Constitution that were made in the 11th Additional Protocol to the Constitution, which was signed at the UPU’s 27th Congress in Abidjan in 2021.

• How important is the approval?

It would allow the Department of Posts, Government of India to have the “Instrument of Ratification” signed by the Honourable President of India and sent to the Director General of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.

o It would also meet the requirements of Articles 25 and 30 of the UPU Constitution, which say that member countries must ratify as soon as possible any changes to the Constitution that are made by a Congress.

It would fix many long-standing problems with the text and include provisions for “acceptance or approval of the Acts in accordance with the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties, 1969.” The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is an international agreement that governs treaties between states. It was written by the International Law Commission of the United Nations, adopted on May 23, 1969, and went into effect on January 27, 1980.