Important Facts For Prelims
Universal Postal Union
- 24 Aug 2022
- 3 min read
Why in News?
Recently, The Union Cabinet approved the ratification of amendments to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) as contained in the Eleventh Additional Protocol to the Constitution signed during the 27th Congress of the Universal Postal Union held at Abidjan 2021.
What is the Significance of the Approval?
- It would enable 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.
- Further, it would fulfill the obligations arising from Articles 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 the Vienna Conventions on Law of Treaties, 1969.
- Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, an international agreement governing treaties between states that was drafted by the International Law Commission of the United Nations and adopted on May 23, 1969, and that entered into force on January 27, 1980.
What is 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.
- It is the second oldest international organization worldwide.
- 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 fulfills 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 the quality of service for customers.
- India joined the UPU in 1876.
