UPU celebrates 60 years as part of United Nations family; adds UN olive branchers to its logo
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the importance of postal services in the world’s development efforts as he marked the Universal Postal Union’s 60th anniversary as a specialized agency of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General is at UPU headquarters to chair the biannual Chief Executives Board of the United Nations System, which coordinates a range of issues facing the world and United Nations organizations. Issues to be discussed include the United Nations’ response to climate change and the world food crisis.
Note to editors: Photos of the UN Secretary General and other executive heads at the Universal Postal Union are available at www.upu.int/ceb/photos.zip
“This is an exciting time for the United Nations, but it is also a time when we are challenged to exert our best efforts to rise to the expectations that the world is placing on us,” said the Secretary-General. “You (the UPU) are a big part of this. Postal services are particularly important at a time when hundreds of millions of people have relocated from their country of origin and are anxious to share news and resources with their relatives.”
He added: “You may be one of the smallest specialized agencies, but the work you are doing is key to the broader mission of our Organization.”
The Secretary-General said “the postal sector makes a well-known contribution to development”, and pointed out the UPU’s efforts to assist its member countries, in particular developing and least developed countries, in the field of technical cooperation and development. He also noted the organization’s efforts to help the global community achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
With more than 660,000 postal outlets combining the physical, electronic and financial dimensions of a worldwide communication network, postal services provide a natural gateway to the information society. The UPU also participates in the Aid for Trade initiative to help enabling developing countries build trade-related infrastructure and supply capacity, and is focusing efforts on development work in Africa.
Africa was the first region for which the UPU developed a regional development plan in 2005 to bring major improvements to the quality of postal services in the area. The plan, focused on integration and a regional approach, groups the development activities undertaken for the benefit of the countries of a particular region by the various players, both within the UPU International Bureau and at the regional level.
“The capacity of postal services to provide information, goods and fund transfers can lend valuable support to the growth of small businesses in developing countries and help them to access markets in industrialized States,” said the Secretary-General.
Edouard Dayan, UPU Director General, expressed his pleasure at hosting the CEB and welcomed the Secretary-General and other executive heads. “Within the United Nations, we strive to make the voice of the UPU heard, and to promote our actions and the role of the postal services in economic development,” he said.
The UPU, created in Berne in 1874, became a UN specialized agency on 1st July 1948. To highlight its role in the UN system, the UPU recently added the UN olive branches to its logo. The UPU is the second oldest international organization, after the International Telecommunications Union. The organization’s 191 member countries are gearing up for their 24th Universal Postal Congress, to be held in Geneva from 23 July to 12 August 2008.
Reminder: On Tuesday 29 April at 9 a.m., the Secretary-General will hold a press conference on the United Nations system response to the global food crisis. Joining the Secretary-General will be World Bank President Robert Zoellick, and General Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Jacques Diouf. World Food Programme Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, and Lennart Bäge, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development will also be present to respond to questions.
The press conference will be held at the Press Centre of the Federal Palais, Bundesgasse 8-12 (in front of the Federal Place), in Berne. Journalists already accredited to the United Nations Office at Geneva or at the Federal Palace do not need to be re-accredited to attend. Journalists not accredited to UNOG or the Federal Palace must get an accreditation BEFORE the press conference by contacting UNOG Information Services at +41 22 917 23 02.