THE UNITED NATIONS’ UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION (UPU)

Oct. 29, 2019

In a unilateral decision, Pakistan has stopped exchange of postal mails with India since August 27. Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said Pakistan’s decision was taken “without any prior notice” and “in direct contravention of international norms.

About:

Type: The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
Functions: It coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. It frames rules for international mail exchange, and fixes rates for international postal services. It regulates 6.40 lakh postal outlets worldwide.
Membership: The UPU has 192 member-countries.
Headquarters: Bern, Switzerland.
Timeline: it was established by the Treaty of Bern in India joined the UPU on July 1, 1876 and Pakistan on November 10, 1947.
The UPU has four units: the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the International Bureau (IB).
Under UPU rules, when a country decides to suspend exchange with a country, it must notify the operator of the other country (in India’s case, India Post) and, if possible, the duration for which services are being stopped. The UPU’s International Bureau too has to be notified.