Universal Postal Union

The  Universal Postal Union (UPU), a United Nations specialised agency, is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players. It aim is to establish international regulations for postal services and to promote cooperation in postal matters.

UPU fulfils an advisory, mediating and liaison role, and provides technical assistance where needed. It sets the rules for international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to stimulate growth in mail, parcel and financial services volumes and improve quality of service for customers.

With the evolution of information and communications technologies, the UPU has turned its attention towards e-commerce and the provision of certain electronic services. In the area of e-commerce, the union has developed the E-commerce Guide, aimed to support postal services operators and governments in the development of postal solutions in areas of collaborative product development, supply-chain integration, e-commerce strategies (local, regional and global), partnerships, business strategies and the e-commerce process. It has also launched an E-Commerce Programme, with the objective to develop e-commerce through the UPU’s international postal network.

UPU has also obtained the delegation of the .post top level domain, available exclusively for the postal sector. The union is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of governance rules for .post, and is responsible for attributing domain names for postal-sector stakeholders who meet the eligibility criteria.

UPU is one of the co-facilitators of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action lines, in the area of e-business.