Mark the anniversary of creation of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
The Universal Postal Union (upu),1
established
at Berne, Switzerland, in 1874, is one of the
oldest inter-governmental organizations. Its aim
is to promote the organization and improvement
of postal services and to further the development
of international collaboration in this sphere. It
also participates, as far as possible, in postal
technical assistance which might be requested
by its member States.
In 1969, the membership of UPU increased
from 137 to 142 with the admission of Qatar on
31 January, Bhutan on 7 March, Nauru on 17
April, Mauritius on 29 August and Swaziland
on 7 November.
ACTIVITIES OF UPU ORGANS
UNIVERSAL POSTAL CONGRESS
The sixteenth Universal Postal Congress met
in Tokyo, Japan, from 1 October to 14 November 1969, under the Presidency of K. Soyama,
Postmaster General of Japan. Michel Rahi, Director-General of the International Bureau of
UPU, acted as Secretary-General. Some 530
representatives from more than 130 countries
attended.
The Congress is the supreme legislative authority of UPU. It meets, as a rule, every five
years, and is composed of plenipotentiaries of
member Governments. Among its main tasks
are to examine and revise the Acts of UPU, which
govern the functioning of the Union and of the
international postal service.
The international postal service consists of
letter post, parcel post and several services concerned with the international transfer of money
and securities. In all these areas, the Tokyo Congress had to review the provisions governing the
operational and financial relations between
Postal Administrations, as well as the conditions
which must be respected by the public, including
rates.
The Congress decided, among other things,
on a considerable simplification of the rules and
rate structures of letter post services and improvements with respect to parcel post. Although the
Congress found it necessary to allow certain rate
increases—to take account of the costs of
handling mail—its deliberations at the same
time led to a reduction in air mail letter rates.
Also, and for the first time, the Congress added
to the Acts certain provisions for standardizing
the size of correspondence—a step of major importance for the increasing mechanization of
postal operations.
The Congress also took action on several administrative and financial questions, particularly
with regard to the future work programme of
the Union. In order to reflect the growth of the
membership of the Union, the Congress decided
to increase the number of members of the
Union's Executive Council from 27 to 31. With
a view to simplifying the structure of the organs
of UPU, the Congress decided to designate the
former Management Council of the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies as the Consultative Council for Postal Studies, the Committee as such being abolished. This new
Council was composed of 30 members. The
Congress decided not to maintain the Training
Committee, competence in this area having been
divided between the Executive Council and the
Consultative Council for Postal Studies.
The Tokyo Congress fixed the ceiling for UPU
expenditures for 1970 at 7 million Swiss francs,
or about US$1.8 million. (This amount did not
take into account the costs of the new UPU
building under construction—amounting to
800,000 Swiss francs, or about US$185,000.)
With respect to technical co-operation, the
Congress examined the general policy to be
followed in continuing and expanding the work
already done, particularly with a view to giving
effective aid to new countries in their efforts to
overcome obstacles to the development of their postal services and to train personnel able to
cope with the difficulties facing developing
countries in the postal field.
In connexion with the participation of UPU
in the Second United Nations Development
Decade, the Congress appealed to UPU members
to contribute to the more rapid development of
postal and financial services through plans drawn
up in the light of the objectives set for the Second Decade and, to this end, to give their support to the organs of the Union.
Finally, the Congress, condemning the policy
of apartheid and the oppressive measures practised by the South African Government, decided
to expel the delegation of South Africa from its
meetings. A proposal to exclude South Africa
from the Union, considered by the Congress to
be a constitutional question, did not obtain the
required majority vote. The Congress also condemned the policy of oppression pursued in
Africa by the Government of Portugal and called
upon that Government to comply without delay
with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
The UPU Executive Council is responsible for
ensuring the continuity of the work of UPU during the five-year interval between meetings of
the Congress. During its annual session, held at
Berne in March 1969, the Council dealt with
various administrative and financial questions
and examined proposals to be submitted to the
Congress. The Council also approved the
Union's budget for 1969, of which the total
amount of gross ordinary and extraordinary expenditure was increased to 9,175,400 Swiss francs
(about US$2,124,000).
The new Executive Council elected by the
sixteenth Congress and composed of 31 countries
met in Tokyo on 10 and 12 November 1969.
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
FOR POSTAL STUDIES
The Executive Committee of the Management Council of the Consultative Committee for
Postal Studies met in Paris, France, from 6 to 8
May 1969 to deal with various questions which
were to be considered by the Tokyo Congress.
Later in the year, from 10 to 12 November,
the 30-member Consultative Council for Postal
Studies—created by the sixteenth Congress to
replace the Management Council of the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies—met in
Tokyo.
TRAINING COMMITTEE
The Training Committee held its final meeting in March 1969 at Berne. It examined various questions relating to vocational training
activities, to be submitted to the sixteenth Congress. It also took note of the results of missions
carried out in different developing areas by vocational training specialists of the International
Bureau.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL BUREAU.
A central office, operating at the headquarters
of the Union at Berne under the title of the
International Bureau of the Universal Postal
Union, headed by a Director-General and functioning under the general supervision of the
Government of the Swiss Confederation, constitutes the secretariat of UPU and serves the Postal
Administrations of member countries of UPU as
an organ for liaison, information and consultation.
The International Bureau is also responsible
for collecting, collating, publishing and distributing information of every kind relating to the
international postal service. It conducts inquiries
requested by Postal Administrations and acts as
a clearing-house in the settlement of certain
accounts between Postal Administrations.
ABOUT THE TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION.
The technical co-operation provided by UPU
in 1969 was carried out principally within the
framework of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and also through use—
especially for scholarships—of the UPU Special
Fund, which was created in 1967 and maintained by voluntary contributions in cash and in
kind from UPU members. Bilateral technical
assistance in all areas was given by Postal Administrations.
Thirty-four postal services projects were carried out under the Technical Assistance Component of UNDP, four of which were of a regional
nature (seminars in Africa and Asia and
reorganization of postal services in Central America). In addition, 29 countries benefited
from technical co-operation in all sectors of the
postal service (organization, operation, teaching, mechanization, and so forth). Ten experts
were assigned and 90 scholarships were granted.
Four projects had benefited or would benefit
from the delivery of training or teaching material
During 1969, UNDP approved the Union's
first UNDP Special Fund Component project,
devoted to the reorganization, in Syria, of the
Higher Arab Postal Institute. Four new postal
services projects—two in association with the
International Telecommunication Union—were
submitted to UNDP for approval. They were
aimed at the establishment or reorganization of
postal schools in Afghanistan, Turkey and in
Asia and Africa.
In addition, UPU organized at Bangkok,
Thailand, under its own Special Fund and with
the co-operation of Postal Administrations, a
multinational training course for intermediatelevel personnel from South-East Asian countries.
Moreover, six advanced seminars for senior staff
—in which 168 officials participated—were held.
Finally, UPU continued in 1969 to assist in the
organization and operation of training courses
for postal instructors, within the framework of
the aid programme established by it in close
co-operation with France and the United Kingdom. Twenty-seven students were participating
in three courses begun during 1969 under this
programme: one in Paris and two in London.
The Union made substantial contributions
from its own Special Fund towards the financing
of these training activities, through the award of
scholarships, which supplemented the assistance
received by the interested countries under UNDP
or bilateral technical assistance.
ABOUT THE SECRETARIAT
As at 31 December 1969, the total number
of permanent and temporary staff members employed at the International Bureau of UPU was
102, of whom 57 were in the professional and
higher categories, and 45 in the general service
category.
ABOUT THE BUDGET
The expenditures of UPU are borne in common by all members. For this purpose, member
countries are divided into seven classes. The
table below shows how the expenditures for 1969
were apportioned among the various classes.
MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION, GLASS OF
CONTRIBUTION, ORGANS, OFFICERS AND HEADQUARTERS
(As at 31 December 1969)
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
HOLDING OFFICE UNTIL THE SIXTEENTH
UNIVERSAL POSTAL CONGRESS
Chairman: Austria
Vice-Chairmen: Mexico, USSR, India, United Arab
Republic
Secretary-General: Michel Rahi (United Arab Republic), Director-General of the International
Bureau
Members: Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada,
Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, New
Zealand, Peru, Senegal, Sudan, Sweden, Syria,
Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, USSR, United Arab
Republic, United Kingdom, United States.
THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
ELECTED BY THE SIXTEENTH UNIVERSAL
POSTAL CONGRESS
Chairman: Japan Members: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon,
Vice-Chairmen: United States, Netherlands, United Colombia, Congo (Brazzaville), Ethiopia, Finland,
Arab Republic, USSR France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan,
Secretary-General: Michel Rahi (United Arab Re- Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria,
public), Director-General of the International Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Senegal, Thailand, TriniBureau dad and Tobago, Tunisia, USSR, United Arab
Republic, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.
MANAGEMENT COUNCIL OF CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
FOR POSTAL STUDIES*
Chairman: France Pakistan, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand, USSR,
Vice-Chairmen: USSR, Netherlands, Pakistan United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United
Members: Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Colombia, States, Upper Volta, Yugoslavia
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indo- * Replaced by Consultative Council for Postal
nesia, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, Studies.
CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL FOR POSTAL STUDIES**
Chairman: Belgium Thailand, Tunisia, USSR, United Arab Republic,
Vice-Chairmen: Germany, Argentina, United King- United Kingdom, United States, Upper Volta
dom, Pakistan, Tunisia, USSR
Members: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, ** The Consultative Council for Postal Studies,
China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, France, Ger- created by the sixteenth Universal Postal Congress,
many, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, which met in Tokyo, Japan, from 1 October to 14
Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Ni- November 1969, replaced the Management Council
geria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Switzerland, of the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies.
TRAINING COMMITTEE†
Chairman: Austria †This Committee was not continued by the sixMembers: Argentina, France, India, Indonesia, Mo- teenth Universal Postal Congress.
rocco, Nigeria, USSR, United Arab Republic.
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF UPU OFFICERS
Director-General: Michel Rahi Assistant Directors-General: Zdenek Caha, Louis
Deputy Director-General: Anthony H. Ridge Lachaize
HEADQUARTERS
Bureau international de l'Union postale universelle
Schosshaldenstrasse 46
Berne, Switzerland
Postal Address: UPU, Case postale
3000 Berne 15,
Switzerland
Cable Address: UPU BERNE
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