Tag: Universal Postal Union (UPU)

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), the Universal Postal Union and Swiss Post unveiled four stamps today to raise awareness of the importance of “humanitarian mail” in times of natural catastrophes or conflicts.

The UNPA issued three stamps, one for each of the UN Offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna, while Swiss Post issued one as a UPU official stamp. It is the first time that the three organizations work together on a common issue.

The four stamps were unveiled during a ceremony at UPU headquarters by Adolf OGI, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace, Edouard DAYAN, UPU Director General, Robert GRAY, Head of the UNPA in New York, and Ulrich GYGI, Chief Executive of Swiss Post.

The stamps all share a common design – a letter carrier holding a letter in one hand as he floats over a sea of hands reaching for the letter. “The design symbolizes the UN’s and the UPU’s commitment to delivering food, aid, material and mail to the victims of natural disasters or armed conflicts,” explained Robert GRAY. In certain cases, humanitarian mail enables people to find lost relatives and serves as a communication link when other communication means have been destroyed or have broken down.