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O;OO D UNIVERSAL .. POSTAL -- D UNION UPU International Bureau To: Weltpoststrasse 4 3015 BERNE — Member countries of the Council of SWITZERLAND Administration and Postal Operations T +41 31 3503111 Council F+41313503110 jfl — Obseriers of the Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council Contacts: Mr Siva Somasundram (CA Secretary)/ Mr Altamir Linhares (CA Assistant Secretary) Berne 5 August 2022 T +41 31 350 32 01/+41 31 350 35 56 [email protected]/[email protected] Ms Wendy Eitan (POC Secretary)I Mr Jeremy Pawsey (POC Assistant Secretary) T +41 31 350 36 22/+41 31 350 3548 [email protected] Reference: 31 00(DACAB)1 074 Subject: Invitation to the 2022.2 Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council sessions (17—28 October) Dear Sir/Madam, On behalf of the Chair of the Councii of Administration (CA) and the Chair of the Postal Operations Council (POC), 1 wish to invite CA and POC members and observers to attend the regular 2022.2 CA and POC ses sions (S2). The meetings are to be held atthe UPU International Bureau (IB) in Berne from 17 to 21 October 2022 (POC) and from 24 to 28 October 2022 (CA). Meetings of the POC user groups will take place in the week preceding the POC session (10 to 14 October). The timetable, provisional agendas and meeting docu ments for the CA and POC wilI be available on the UPU website at www.upu.intlen/Members-Centre. 1 In-person and remofe participation possibiities At the 2022.1 session, the CA and POC approved the relevant amendments to their Rules of Procedure to offer the option of remote participation for members and observers unable to attend the sessions in person. In view of the improving epidemioiogical situation, the Swiss Government iifted the measures in place to con tain the spread of COV1D-1 9 with effect from 17 February 2022 (inciuding measures concerning entry and stay and the permit requirement for the holding of large-seale events). As the measures adopted by the Swiss Government are iiable to evolve rapidly in the Iight of the public health situation, delegates pianning to attend in person should, nonetheless, regularly consult the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health website (www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home.html) before traveliing to Switzerland. II Registration ofparticipants and practical information Ali delegates from CA and POC members and observers wishing to participate in the sessions remotely or in person are required to register through the UPU’s Event Management Plafform (EMP), accessible at events.upu.int. Registration is compuisory for ali delegates and must be compieted by 30 September 2022. MAJANOUS- JA KOMMUNIKASI0 10. 08 2022 h.  2 The guidelines for delegation registration for the sessions can be found in Annex 1, and the Registration User Guide can be accessed at: www. upu. i ntlen/Events/CouncU-of-Administration-(S2) www. upu. i ntlen/Events/Postai-Operations-Council-(S2) Practical information for delegates attending in person can be found in Annex 2. iii Voting CA and POC members wiii authorize their delegates to vote in accordance with the CA and POC Rules of Procedure. Ali CA and POC members attending either remotely or physicaily will be entitied to participate using the UPU’s online electronic voting platform. iv Interpretation costs During the 2022.2 CAIPOC sessions, simuitaneous interpretation wiN be provided.1 It shouid be noted that the cost of the interpretation services will be divided among the partidpating countries (CAIPOC members and observers). Information on the choice of languages available to UPU member countries at CA/POC meetings is contained in the reievant articies of the Rules of Procedure of the two bodies. Accordingiy, UPU member countries that are not members of the CNPOC but will be participating as observers at the 2022.2 CNPOC sessions are asked to inform the iB, using the form provided in Annex 3, of the lan guage(s) that they wish to use. v Focal point for contact relating to the work of CA/POC bodies. To facilitate communication between CA/POC members and the 1B secretariat, ali CA/POC members were asked before the last session to notify the secretariat of their focal point for contacts relating to the work of the CAIPOC bodies. Any countries that have not yet done so are kindly asked to complete and return the form in Annex 4 by 30 September 2022. vi Submission by UPU member countries of questions to be discussed at CA and POC sessions Pursuantto articles 14.3.2 of the CA Rules of Procedure and 15.3.2 of the POC Rules of Procedure, any UPU member country wishing to submit questions for discussion at the CNPOC sessions is required to send the relevant documents to the Secretary General at least six weeks before the opening of the session (5 September 2022 for the POC and 12 September 2022 for the CA). Yours faithfully, Secretary General O -. O :,‘ . 1 Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.  D UN1VERSAL Annex 1 to letter 3100(DACAB)1074 j POSTAL of 5 August 2022 7s6• DuNioN Practical information for ali participants in the 2022.2 Councii of Administration (CA) and Postai Operation Councii (POC) sessions Guidelines for deiegation registration 1 With a view to facilitating the registration of member Country delegations and other eligible participants for the 2022.2 CA and POC sessions, the international Bureau (IB) wouid like to remind ali prospeCtive partic ipants of the foiiowing guideiines and step-by-step process for successfui registration. Step 1 Notification to the iB of the responsibie entity and accreditor and of the composition 01 the — delegation (for member countries only) 2 The Event Management Piatform (EMP) enabies participants to register for ali UPU meetings. It stream lines the registration process and helps to ensure that UPU member countries are represented at meetings by individuais duly authorized and empowered by their national authorities. These individuals are referred to coi Iectively as the deiegations”. 3 in this connection, ali member countries must provide: ) the name of the entity responsibie for providing formai notifcation of delegates’ names (referred to as the “responsibie entity); and ii) the contact detalis of the person within the responsible entity who wili act as accreditor on the EMP. Most member countries have pro vided this informabon in order to register for previous meetings and therefore aiready have a designated accreditor responsible for vaiidating the registrations of their deiegates for the meetings of the bodies of the UPU (Congress, CA and POC). 4 Nlember countries are requested to verify that the information sent to the CAIPOC secretariat regarding their designated accreditor for the previous CAIPOC sessions is stiil vaiid. Member Countries that do not have a designated acCreditor, or that need to communicate a change of accreditor, are asked to Complete the form in Attachment 1 to this annex and return it to the CA/POC seCretariat, as appropriate, as soon as possible. Piease note that the iB must be notified of the nomination of the designated acCreditor by the competent governmentai authority of the UPU member Country ConCerned, i.e. by the supervising ministry, department, embassy or permanent mission to the United Nations and other international organ izations. 5 UPU member Countries that have yet to Complete this first step are kindly invited to do so without further delay. Step 2 — Participant registration (for member countries, observers and ad hoc observers) 6 Ali deiegates from CA and POC members and observers wishing to partiCipate in the session remoteiy or on site are required to be registered. 7 Delegates from CA and POC members and observers who registered through the EMP for the 2022.1 CAIPOC session (Si) wiil need to register again using their UPU aCCount. For these delegates the EMP wiil pre-complete the registration form with their personal data and wiil automatiCally ContaCt the accreditor of the member country or observer concerned, so that registrations Currentiy saved in the system can be aCCredited again. 8 Deiegates from member countries or observers who have not registered previously via the EMP must, however, do so in order to be aCcredited.  2 9 lf registrants encounter any difficulties during the registration process, they may consult the Registration User Guide, which can be accessed at: www. upu. intlen/EventsfCouncil-of-Administration-(S2) www. upu intlen/Events/Postai-Operations-Council-(S2) 10 FoI!owing registration, prospective participants wiIl receive an e-mail stating that their registration has been received and is pending confirmation. Step 3 Participant registration validation by the accreditor (this step is required for confirmation of — submitted registrations) (for member countries only) 11 Subject to the formal notification requirements referred to above, accreditors are officials named by the responsible entity of a member country as authorized to accredit the individual pending registrations of that organization’s delegation members (see paragraphs 3 and 4 above). 12 As a first step, ali accreditors must log in to the EMP and update their profiles. Once logged in to the system, accreditors wilI be able to review the pending registrations of their delegates (see step 2 above). 13 The accreditor must verify whether the person requesting registration is indeed a member of the organ izations delegation. lf not, the accreditor is expected to reject the person’s registration request. Once the accreditor validates a registration request, the delegate concerned wiII receive an e-mail stating that his/her registration has been confirmed. Should the accreditor reject a request, the person concerned wilI receive an e-maiI to that effect with the reasons for the refusal. 14 Please note that accreditors also attending the meeting must both register and accredit themselves. 15 Note that participants who are considered observers or ad hoc observers of the CA or POC (e.g. United Nations, restricted unions, Consultative Committee, international organizations) will be validated by the IB and will not be requested to provide the accreditor information referred to in step 1. Step 4 — Doubts and difficulties encountered during the above processes 16 In case of any doubts or difficulties encountered during the processes described above, UPU member countries and observers are kindly invited to send an e-mail to one of the following addresses: — For technical issues relating to the EMP: [email protected]; — For ali other issues: [email protected] and/or poc.secretariatupu.int.  Annex 1.Attachment 1 to Ietter3lOO(DACAB)1074 of 5 August 2022 2022.2 Council of Administration (CA) and Postal Operations Council (POC) sessions Form to be completed by the relevant government entity of the UPU member country concerned (e.g. ministry, department, embassy or permanent mission to the United Nations and other international organiza tions, etc.). Please return the completed form to the International Bureau by e-mail ([email protected] and/or [email protected]) by 30 September 2022 at the Iatest. Fuil name and title of person completing this forrn UMr Ms Fuli name of entity Position/title Address Tel. E-mail Date Signature Accreditor (ministry, regulator, designated operator, head office of observers, etc.) responsible for notifying the International Bureau of delegates’ names in advance of each Congress, CA and POC session: FuIl name and title of individual UMr Ms FulI name of accreditor entity Address Tel. E-mail  D UNIVERSAL Annex 2 to letter 3100(DACAB)1074 .. POSTAL of5August2l22 D UNION Practical information for participants attending the 2022.2 Council of Administration (CA) and Postal Operations Council (POC) sessions in person A. Reimbursement of travelling expenses With reference to IB circular 74/2022 regarding the procedure for travel expense reimbursements to eligible delegates attending the CA and POC sessions, the foilowing should be noted: Forthe CA Pursuant to article 110 of the UPU General Regulations, the representative of each of the members of the CA classified as developing or least deveioped countries (according to the iists established, respectively, by the CA and the United Nations) participating physicaily in its meetings wilI be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of an economy class return air ticket and/or first class return rail ticket, or expenses incurred for travel by any other means, in the latter case subject to the condition that the amount does not exceed the price of the economy class return air ticket. The travelling expenses of officiais accompanying the titular representative are to be borne by the member country concerned. lf a member of the CA is represented by the same person or by different persons at meetings at the CA session and at meetings of its bodies sitting in the same place during the period preceding or foilowing the session, the fare wiIl be refunded only once. For the POC In accordance with article 116 of the General Regulations, one representative of each of the membercountries of the POC classified as least developed countries (according to the Iist established by the United Nations) and participating in the POC meetings will be entitled to reimbursement of the cost of an economy class return air ticket and/or first class return rail ticket, or expenses incurred for travel by any other means, in the latter case subject to the condition that the amount does not exceed the price of the economy class return air ticket. The traveliing expenses of officials accompanying the titular representative are to be borne by the member country concerned. lf a member of the POC is represented by the same person or by different persons at meetings at the POC session and at meetings of its bodies sitting in the same place during the period preceding or foilowing the session, the fare will be refunded only once. B. Privileges and immunities During their stay in Switzerland, ali the delegates of UPU member countries attending the session wilI enjoy the privileges and immunities outlined in articie IV of the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations concluded between the Swiss Federal Council and the Secretary General of the United Nations (dated 1 July 1946), which is applicable by analogy to the delegates of UPU member countries at conferences con vened by the Union and during their journey to and from the place of meeting. (See the Agreement in the “Constitution and General Regulations Manual” on the UPU website via the following mk: www. upu. intlen/Universal-Postal-Union/About-U PU/Acts#manuals-in-three-volumes. C. Visas In view of the improving epidemiological situation, the Swiss Government lifted the majority ot measures in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 with effect from 17 February 2022 (including measures concerning entry and stay and the permit requirement for the holding of large-scale events). As the measures adopted by the Swiss Government are iiable to change at any time in the Iight of the evolving pubiic health situation, delegates planning to attend in person should regularly consult the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health website (www. bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home. html) before traveiling to Switzerland.  2 lf official confirmation of participation in sessions of the Council of Administration and Postal Operations Councii is required in order to obtain a visa, one will be provided by the EMP. To obtain this confirmation, please complete the visa reiated fields in the EMP. Once a registration is confirmed by the reievant accreditor, the visa letter wiII automatically be generated and sent by e-mail to the delegate. D. Accommodation for participants A list of avaiiable hoteis can be found on the Berne Tourism website at www.bern.com/en/where-to-stay. Authorized delegates of CA/POC members and observers may make their bookings directly through that web site. Note also that the UPU has special rates with certain hotels. The International Bureau (IB) therefore recommends, when making reservations, that CA/POC members and observers indicate that they wiIl be par ticipating in UPU meetings. Unfortunately, owing to difficulties experienced in the past, the UPU is no longer able to automatically reserve hotel rooms on behalf of CAIPOC members and observers. However, if for special reasons CA/POC members or observers are unable to make the required reservations at their chosen hotel, they may contact the Tourist Office of the City of Berne, located at the main station: Tourist Information Bahnhofplatz lOa 3011 BERNE SWITZERLAND Tel: +41 31 328 12 12 Fax: +41 31 328 12 77 Website: www.bern.com/en/home E-mail: [email protected] E. Climate Up-to-date information on weather conditions in Berne can be found at meteo.search.ch/3015-bern. F. Venue of the session As stated in the letter of invitation, the session will take place at the UPU headquarters building located on the outskirts of the city, at the following address: Universal Postal Union Weltpoststrasse 4 3015 BERNE Tel: +41313503111 Fax: +41 31 3503110 E-mail: [email protected] To get there, delegates can take the No. 8 tram, direction “Saati”, as far as the “Weltpostverein” stop, Iocated opposite the IB building. 0. Transport between airports of arrival or departure and Berne Delegates coming by air will normally arrive in Switzerland at Zurich—Kloten or Geneva—Cointrin Airport. They then usually take the train to Berne. Current train timetabies can be found at www.sbb.ch. That website is available in English, French, German and Italian. H. Provisions concerning smoking at the International Bureau You are reminded that smoking is prohibited on ali IB premises, with the exception of the building’s rooftop terrace (8th fioor).  D UNIVERSAL Annex 3 to letter 3100(DACAB)1074 .. POSTAL of 5 August 2022 ‘‘ DuNioN To: CAIPOC Secretariat Universal Postal Union Weltpoststrasse 4 3015 BERNE SWITZERLAND E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] UPU member country (including non-members of the CA and POC invited as observers) The above CA/POC member or observer wiII be using the following Ianguage(s) of discussion during the 2022.2 CAJPOC sessons and wiI bear the associated cost in accordance with artce 18 of the CA Rules of Procedure/article 22 of the POC Rules ot Procedure. Li French Li Russian Ii English Li Spanish Arabic If no declaration is made, the above country wiII be automatically placed in the category deemed most appro priate, either according to ts membership ota language group or on the basis of the language of discussion it has chosen in the past. Sender IJMr IMs Function/title Address E-mail Date Signature  D UNIVERSAL Annex 4 to letter 3100(DACAB)1 074 .. POSTAL of 5 August 2022 DIuNI0N Focal poirit for participation in the work of CAIPOC bodies [country name] is a LJ CA member IJ CA observer Li POC member LJ POC observer, and the following person is the focal point for CA/POC information: Fuli name Mr Ms Title Organization Mobile tel. E-mail Please send your response to the following e-maiI address(es) by 30 September 2022: [email protected] poc.secretariat@upu. int