Universal Postal Union (UPU)

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Key updates-

• The approval enables the Department of Posts, Government of India to have the “Instrument of Ratification” signed by the Hon’ble President of India and have the same deposited with the Director General of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
• This would fulfil the obligations arising from Article 25 and 30 of the UPU Constitution which provides for ratification of the amendments to the Constitution adopted by a Congress as soon as possible by the member countries.
• It would resolve many long-standing discrepancies in the text and accommodate provisions for ‘acceptance or approval’ of the Acts in consistency with Vienna Conventions on Law of Treaties, 1969.

A brief note on the Universal Postal Union-

• The UPU was established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874.
• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.
• The UPU’s headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.
• 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 Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives.
• Any member country of the United Nations may become a member of the UPU.
• Any non-member country of the United Nations may become a UPU member provided that its request is approved by at least two-thirds of the member countries of the UPU.
• With its 192 member countries, the organization fulfils an advisory, mediating and liaison role, and provides technical assistance where needed.
• The union sets the rules for international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to stimulate growth in mail, parcel and financial services volumes and improve quality of service for customers.

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