The State of Palestine has not been admitted to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) after a postal ballot of the organization’s member countries.
According to the UPU Constitution, countries which are not already member states of the United Nations may only be admitted to the UPU with the support of at least two-thirds of the UPU’s member countries.
Following the State of Palestine’s formal application for admission on 12 February 2019, the UPU’s member countries were requested to vote by postal ballot. The ballot was distributed on 27 March 2019 and countries were required to return their votes to the UPU secretariat in Berne, Switzerland, postmarked no later than 27 July 2019.
The UPU secretariat has received valid postal votes from 86 member countries, as follows:
56 votes in favour of the application submitted by the State of Palestine.
7 votes against the application submitted by the State of Palestine.
23 abstentions.
The remaining 106 UPU member countries – of which 11 submitted invalid postal ballots and 95 did not submit a ballot – were deemed as having abstained under the UPU rules.
The State of Palestine accordingly retains its status as a “privileged observer”, as decided by UPU member countries during the 1999 Beijing Congress.
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The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne. Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.
For further information, please contact:
David Dadge
Manager, Communication and Events Programme
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
Executive Office Directorate
T +41 31 350 31 23
E david.dadge@upu.int