Universal Postal Union

The Executive and Liaison Committee of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) met in Berne, Switzerland, from May 16 to 23, 1960, preceded, from May 2 on, by meetings of several subcommittees, and followed, from May 23 to 28, by a session of the Enlarged Executive and Liaison Committee. The report of the activities of the Union for 1959 was approved without opposition, and the discussion was devoted chiefly to examining the reports of the various subcommittees, the recommendations of which were generally accepted, although the conclusions of the Tariffication Subcommittee concerning the weight scale and the rates applicable to each step in the scale were approved by only a small majority. The reports of the Air Mail Subcommittee and the Transit Rates Subcommittee were adopted by large majorities, and the recommendations of the Parcels Subcommittee obtained easy approval, although some of the members defended the old system of calculating rates by the kilogram. The collaboration of UPU with the UN and other agencies such as the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency was mentioned; a report on the work of the Consultative Committee for Postal Studies (CCPS) was noted with interest; and several administrative questions concerning the organization of the International Bureau were also considered.