Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that helps countries work together to manage their postal systems. It makes sure that mail can travel easily between different countries around the world. With 192 member states, the UPU has offices in Bern, Switzerland.

It was established in 1874 as the General Postal Union and was one of the first groups where countries worked together on shared rules. The UPU made it easier to send letters and packages internationally by setting the same prices and rules for all mail, no matter where it came from. In 1878, it changed its name to the Universal Postal Union. For many years, it worked on its own before joining the United Nations in 1948.

Today, the UPU has four main parts: the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC), and the International Bureau (IB). It also helps run special services like the Express Mail Service (EMS), which makes it faster to send important packages across borders. Because of the UPU, every country agrees to follow the same rules when sending mail to one another.

History

Before the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was created, countries had to make special agreements to send mail to each other. If two countries didn’t have an agreement, mail had to go through another country, making the process complicated. For example, in 1853, the United States had an agreement with Prussia, but some German states sent mail through France instead. Since the United States and France didn’t have an agreement, the mail had to travel on a ship from Britain or Belgium.

Negotiating these agreements could take many years. The United States started talking about a mail agreement with France in 1852, but they didn’t agree on prices. It wasn’t until 1874 that they finally made an agreement — just before the UPU made it unnecessary.

To make international mail easier, the UPU was created in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. The Treaty of Bern set up the General Postal Union and made three important rules: a single price for sending letters anywhere in the world, fair treatment of foreign and local mail, and each country keeping its own postage money. This meant that letters didn’t need stamps from every country they passed through — only the stamps from the sender’s country were needed.

The UPU started with 21 countries, most of them in Europe, but soon more countries joined. In 1878, it was renamed the Universal Postal Union. For many years, French was the only official language, but in 1994, English was added. The UPU became part of the United Nations in 1948 and is one of the oldest international groups in the world.

Terminal dues

Origin

In 1874, when the Universal Postal Union started, the country where a letter began kept all the money from postage. This idea assumed that each letter would lead to a reply, balancing postal flows. However, some types of mail, like periodicals, did not balance out. By 1906, Italy received many periodicals from other countries but sent few back. This imbalance continued, and in 1969, the UPU introduced terminal dues. This system required the country sending more mail to pay a fee to the country receiving more mail, based on the weight difference. The fees were set at half a gold franc per kilogram.

Modifications

After terminal dues were introduced, they were often discussed and changed. In 1974, the dues were tripled, and again in 1979. By 1984, they were increased by another 45%. New rules were added over time, such as a per-item charge in 1988 to discourage sending mail through other countries. In 1991, a "threshold" system was created for countries receiving large amounts of mail, setting different rates for letters and periodicals. By 1999, special rates were offered to developing countries.

Shifting balances and the United States

By 2010, the United States sent more mail internationally and had a surplus. However, with the rise of e-commerce, the U.S. began receiving more mail, leading to deficits by 2015. In 2016, the UPU changed its payment system, which the U.S. said would help cover costs for packages from countries like China.

2019 Extraordinary Congress

In 2018, during trade issues between the United States and China, the U.S. complained that it cost less to mail a package from China to the U.S. than within the U.S. itself. The U.S. announced plans to leave the UPU and set its own rates. In response, the UPU held a special meeting in September 2019. Members rejected the U.S. proposal but agreed to a new plan allowing countries to set their own rates up to 70% of their domestic rates, with increases phased in from 2021 to 2025. The U.S. could also choose to set its own rates earlier by paying an annual amount for five years.

Standards

The UPU's Standards Board creates and updates many international standards to help make sending mail easier and more consistent around the world. It works with many groups, including postal companies, customers, and other partners, to make sure everything works well together. The Standards Board focuses on important areas like electronic data interchange (a way to send information quickly), how mail is labeled, and the forms and tools used for mailing. All of these standards are made following specific rules and are shared by the UPU International Bureau.

Member countries

Main article: List of members of the Universal Postal Union

All United Nations member states can join the Universal Postal Union (UPU). If a country is not a UN member, it can still join if two-thirds of UPU members agree. The UPU has 192 members, including 190 countries and two groups of dependent territories.

The UPU includes the Vatican City and every UN member except Andorra, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau. These four places get their mail through other UPU members. Some areas, like the overseas parts of the Netherlands and British overseas territories, are counted as single members even though they are not fully independent countries.

Observers

Palestine is an observer in the UN and was given special status in the UPU in 1999. In 2016, Palestine started getting its mail directly.

States with limited recognition

States with limited recognition cannot send mail directly and must use other countries to deliver their mail.

Congresses

Main article: Postal Union Congress

The Universal Postal Congress is the most important meeting of the Universal Postal Union. It happens every four years to talk about changing the rules that all member countries agree to follow. Countries also use this time to discuss many topics about how mail works around the world. The very first meeting happened in Bern, Switzerland in 1874, with delegates from 22 countries. Since then, these meetings have happened regularly every four years.

Philatelic activities

The Universal Postal Union worked together with the World Association for the Development of Philately to create the WADP Numbering System (WNS). This system started on 1 January 2002. The website shows entries for 160 countries and postal areas, with more than 25,000 stamps listed since 2002. Many of these stamps have pictures, which are usually owned by the country that made them, but the UPU and WADP allow people to download them.

Electronic telecommunication

In some countries, the system that handled letters also managed telegraphs and later telephones. There was an organization called the International Telegraph Bureau, also based in Bern, similar to the UPU. Today, the International Telecommunication Union helps manage communication around the world.

The UPU works to connect postal services with the Internet. They support .post, a special system for digital postal services. The UPU created a group called the .post group (DPG) to guide the development of these new digital services, including e-post.