The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is one of the specialised agencies of the United Nation Organisation that coordinates the postal policies among member’s countries. It was established in 1874 with the name of "General Postal Union" under the influence of Treaty of Bern, but in 1878 the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union”.
It became specialised agency of UNO in 1948 and second oldest international organisation that operates worldwide. It was established in 1874 with the name of "General Postal Union" under the influence of Treaty of Bern, but in 1878 the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union”. French is the official language of the UPU. English was added as a working language in 1994. The majority of the UPU's documents and publications – including its flagship magazine, Union Postale – are available in the United Nations' six official languages (French, English, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic).
Organisational Structure of Universal Postal Union (UPU)
The Organisational structure of Universal Postal Union (UPU) consists of 4 bodies which explained below:
1. The Congress: It is apex body of UPU that meets every year. Plenipotentiaries from the UPU's 192 member countries gather on this occasion to decide on a new world postal strategy and set the future rules for international mail exchanges.
2. The Council of Administration (CA): It consists of 41 member States that meets annually at the headquarters of UPU in Berne. It also ensures the continuity of the UPU's work between Congresses supervises its activities and studies regulatory, administrative, legislative and legal issues.
3. The Postal Operations Council (POC): It is the technical and operational body of the UPU that consists of 40 member countries who are elected during Congress. The body elects its own chair and meets annually at the UPU’s headquarters in Berne.
4. The International Bureau (IB): It is located in Berne (Switzerland). It has a staff of about 250 employees drawn from about 50 different countries. It serves as an office of liaison, information and consultation, and promotes technical cooperation among Union members.
World Post Day
On 9 October is celebrated every year as World Post Day because of the means to mark the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union's (UPU) creation in 1874. The date of celebrating “World Post Day” was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo. The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.
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