Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Universal Postal Union

 
Marketing Dictionary: Universal Postal Union (UPU)
Home > Library > Business & Finance > Marketing Dictionary

Agency of the United Nations, based in Berne, Switzerland, responsible for regulating government-run postal services, in and between 189 member nations. Issues typically addressed include terminal dues (payments between countries for handling international mail), international direct-mail marketing, the Internet, and representation in the UPU. A Congress is held every five years in a different member country. In 1999, the 22nd Congress was held in Beijing, China.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Universal Postal Union
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
Universal Postal Union (UPU), specialized agency of the United Nations, with headquarters at Bern, Switzerland. Established in 1875 following adoption of the Universal Postal Convention, it is one of the oldest extant international governmental organizations. The union was associated with the United Nations in 1947. The Universal Postal Congress, the governing body, usually meets every five years to consider the activities of the executive council of 40 members elected on a geographical basis and meeting yearly. Countries that belong to the union form a unified postal territory with easy international exchange of mail. The union also provides technical assistance and advice in attempts to improve postal service, especially in developing countries. The UPU has 191 member nations.

Military Dictionary: Universal Postal Union
Top
Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > Military Dictionary

(DOD) A worldwide postal organization to which the United States and most other countries are members. The exchange of mail, except parcel post, between the United States and other nations is governed by the provisions of the Universal Postal Union convention. Also called UPU.

Wikipedia: Universal Postal Union
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Small Flag of the United Nations ZP.svg   Union postale universelle
Universal Postal Union
 
Flag of UPU.svg
The UPU flag
Org type UN agency
Acronyms UPU
Head France Edouard Dayan
Status Active
Established October 9, 1874
Headquarters Switzerland Berne, Switzerland
Website www.upu.int
Portal Portal:United Nations United Nations Portal

The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, and hence the worldwide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties. Universal Postal Union's headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland.

Overview

Prior to the establishment of the UPU, a country had to conclude a separate postal treaty with each other country that it wished to carry international mail to or from. The United States called for an international postal congress, which was held in 1863. This led Heinrich von Stephan, Royal Prussian and later German Minister for Posts, to found the Universal Postal Union, the third oldest international organization (after the Rhine Commission and the ITU). It was created in 1874, under the name "General Postal Union", as a result of the Treaty of Berne signed on 9 October 1874. In 1878, the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union".

The UPU established that

  1. there should be a more or less uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world;
  2. postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail; and
  3. each country should retain all monies it collected for international postage.

One of the most important results of the UPU treaty was that it ceased to be necessary, as it often had been previously, to affix the stamps of any country through which one's letter or package would pass in transit; the UPU provides that stamps of member nations are accepted for the whole international route.

After the foundation of the United Nations, the UPU became a specialized agency in the UN.

In 1969 the UPU introduced a new system of payment by which fees were payable between countries according to the difference in the total weight of mail between the respective countries. These fees were called terminal dues. The new system was fairer when traffic was heavier in one direction than the other. As this affected the cost of the delivery of periodicals, the UPU devised a new "threshold" system, which was implemented in 1991.

The system sets separate letter and periodical rates for countries which receive at least 150 tonnes of mail annually. For countries with less mail, the original flat rate has been maintained. The United States has negotiated a separate terminal dues formula with thirteen European countries that includes a rate per piece plus a rate per kilogram, and has a similar arrangement with Canada. The UPU also operates the system of International Reply Coupons and addresses concerns with ETOEs.

Philatelic activities

The Universal Postal Union, in conjunction with the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP), has developed the WADP Numbering System (WNS), launched on 1 January 2002. The web site (www.wnsstamps.ch/en/) has entries for some 160 countries and emitting postal entities, with over 25,000 registered stamps since 2002. Many of them have images, which generally remain copyrighted by the issuing country, but which the UPU and WADP permit to be downloaded.

UPU Standards

Standards are important prerequisites for effective postal operations and for interconnecting the global network. The UPU's Standards Board develops and maintains a growing number of international standards to improve the exchange of postal-related information between postal operators and promotes the compatibility of UPU and international postal initiatives. It works closely with postal handling organisations, customers, suppliers and other partners, including various international organisations. The Standards Board ensures that coherent standards are developed in areas such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), mail encoding, postal forms and meters. UPU standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in Part V of the "General information on UPU standards" and are published by the UPU International Bureau in accordance with Part VII of that publication.

UPU Congresses

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)
Main article: Postal Union Congress
Commemorative stamp of the 15th congress of the UPU held in Vienna, Austria in 1964.

Member countries

The United Nations member states may all become member countries of the UPU. Of the 192 United Nations member states 188 are UPU member countries. The situation of the four UN members Andorra, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau with regard to the UPU has not yet been settled. A non-member state of the United Nations may also become a UPU member if two-thirds of the UPU member countries approve its request. Vatican City is a UPU member country and a non-member state observer of the United Nations (as the Holy See).

The UPU has 191 member countries, including the Dutch territories of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba as a single UPU member, and the British overseas territories, which are not independent states. The newest member is Montenegro, which joined on 26 July 2006.

The Republic of China joined the UPU on 1 March 1914. After the People's Republic of China was founded, the Republic of China continued to represent China in the UPU, until the UPU decided on 13 April 1972 to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative. This results in International Reply Coupons not being available for Taiwan. Mail addressed to Taiwan will still be delivered there, albeit routed through a third country.

UPU Monument (Weltpostdenkmal) in Berne

Various other non-recognized countries such as Somaliland and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) need to have their mail routed through third countries as the UPU will not allow direct international deliveries (The TRNC's mail goes via Turkey and Somaliland's mail via Ethiopia). Another entity without direct UPU representation is the Sahrawi Republic / Western Sahara. Palestine was granted special observer status to the UPU in 1999, and its status will likely be upgraded to full membership in the near future.[5][6] )

The members are listed below in alphabetical order, with the date of entering the UPU (multiple entry dates for some countries). Territories covered by a sovereign member country are included under that country.

Contents Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

UPU members

B

C

D

E

F

French Overseas Departments
Territories coming within the UPU's jurisdiction by virtue of article 23 of the UPU Constitution

G

H

I

Japanese postal monument located in Osaka, commemorating the 100th year anniversary in 1977 of its joining to UPU.

J

K

L

M

N

Netherlands Antilles and Aruba - 1 July 1875[7]

O

  •  Oman - 17 August 1971

P

Q

  •  Qatar - 31 January 1969

R

S

T

U

Acceded automatically as Crown dependencies of the United Kingdom
British overseas territories - 1 April 1877
Dependencies of St Helena
Territories coming within the UPU's jurisdiction by virtue of article 23 of the UPU Constitution

V

Y

  •  Yemen - 1 January 1930

Z

UN member countries whose situation with regard to the UPU has not yet been settled

Former member countries of the UPU

In the course of history a number of member countries of the UPU saw their membership lapse, due to political changes. Where there was an immediate successor state, membership would normally devolve on that state. In other cases membership lapsed.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References and sources

Notes
  1. ^ "Section 2 Formal Accession to the UPU". China Post. http://www.chinapost.com.cn/upuxx/posthistory/china/262.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  2. ^ "Arago: 20th UPU Congress Issue". Arago: Smithsonian National Postal Museum. http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?cmd=1&con=1&tid=2038675. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  3. ^ "The 22nd UPU Congress". China Post. http://www.chinapost.cn/fzgk/99-nb/text/42.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  4. ^ a b "Andorra führt Postleitzahlen ein" (in German). Andorra Intern. 2004-02-27. http://www.andorra-intern.com/news_2004/de_news_040227.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  5. ^ "Palestinian parcel post gets a boost". Universal Postal Union (UPU). http://www.upu.int/news_centre/2009/en/2009-04-01_parcel_post.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  6. ^ "Israel and Palestinians to boost postal services with help from UN agency". Un.org. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27622&Cr=UPU&Cr1=. Retrieved 2008-10-24. 
  7. ^ A separate member from the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
  8. ^ The Orange Free State acceded to the Postal Convention of Vienna on this date, and a year later also acceded to that of Washington. Spies, F.J. du Toit (1946). 'n Nederlander in diens van die Oranje-Vrystaat. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger. pp. 67. 
  9. ^ a b Dissolution of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic at the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. Membership did not lapse but was absorbed in the British South African membership.
  10. ^ Spies. 'n Nederlander in diens van die Oranje-Vrystaat. pp. 66. 
Sources
Search Wikisource Wikisource has original text related to this article:

External links

v • d • e
United Nations (UN)
UN System
Major offices
Programmes and
agencies
FAO · ICAO · ILO · IMO · IPCC · IAEA · UNIDO · ITU · UNAIDS · SCSL · UNCTAD · UNCITRAL · UNDCP · UNDP · UNEP · UNESCO · UNODC · UNFIP · UNIFEM · UNFPA · OHCHR · UNHCR · UNHRC · UN-HABITAT · UNICEF · UNITAR · UNOSAT · UNRWA · UNWTO · UPU · WFP · WHO · WMO
Resolutions
Related topics
Category · Portal

Coordinates: 46°56′20″N 7°28′31″E / 46.93881°N 7.475306°E / 46.93881; 7.475306


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Marketing Dictionary. Dictionary of Marketing Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Military Dictionary. US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Words, 2003.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Universal Postal Union".  Read more