Foreword

The below is an article that was originally provided by http://www.upu.int/faq/en/index.shtml, but is no longer found there. So It is presented here as it is important information for those desiring to protect their freedoms. I do not agree with using everything in this document, because I use the common law, but this does give an explanation about why we use stamps on our oaths and other important documents. As one will see below, the author of this document states the front side of a document is civil and the backside is criminal. In my documents, neither side is civl or criminal, because my documents are filed in courts of record which has neither of the inferior court systems civil or criminal.

This is a bit of a read, but one cannot know too much.

A Detailed History

The UPU (Universal Postal Union) in Berne, Switzerland, is an extremely significant  organization in today's world. It is formulated by treaty. No nation can be recognized as a nation without being in international admiralty in order to have a forum common to all nations for engaging in commerce and resolving disputes. That is why the USA under the Articles of Confederation could not be recognized as a country. Every state (colony) was sovereign, with its own common law, which foreclosed other countries from interacting with the USA as a nation in international commerce. Today, international admiralty is the private jurisdiction of the IMF, et al., the creditor in the bankruptcy of essentially every government on Earth.

The UPU operates under the authority of treaties with every country in the world. It is, as it were, the overlord or overseer over the common interaction of all countries in international commerce. Every nation has a postal system, and also has reciprocal banking and commercial relationships, whereby all are within and under the UPU. The UPU is the number one military (international admiralty is also military) contract mover on the planet.

For this reason one should send all important legal and commercial documents through the post office rather than private carriers, which are firewalls. We want direct access to the authority—and corresponding availability of remedy and recourse—of the UPU. For instance, if you post through the US Post Office and the US Postmaster does not provide you with the remedy you request within twenty-one (21) days, you can take the matter to the UPU.

Involving the authority of the UPU is automatically invoked by the use of postage stamps. Utilization of stamps includes putting stamps on any documents (for clout purposes, not mailing) we wish to introduce into the system. As long as you use a stamp (of any kind) you are in the game. If you have time, resources, and the luxury of dealing with something well before expiration of a given time frame, you can use stamps that you consider ideal. The most preferable stamps are ones that are both large and contain the most colors. In an emergency situation, or simply if economy is a consideration, any stamp will do. Using a postage stamp and your autograph on it makes you the postmaster for that contract.

Whenever you put a stamp on a document, inscribe your full name over the stamp at an angle. The color ink you use for this is a function of what color will show up best against the colors in the stamp. Ideal colors for doing this are purple (royalty), blue (origin of the bond, the one holding the contract), and gold (king's edict). Avoid red at all cost. Obviously, if you have a dark, multi-colored stamp you do not want to use purple or blue ink, since your autograph on it would not stand out as well if you used lighter color ink. Ideally one could decide on the best color for his autograph and then obtain stamps that best suit one's criteria and taste. Although a dollar stamp is best, it is a luxury unless one is well off financially. Otherwise, reserve the use of dollar stamps for crucial instruments, such as travel documents. The rationale for using two-cent stamps is that in the 19 th Century the official postage rate for the de jure Post Office of the United States of America was fixed at two (2) cents. Remember the old expression “add your two cents worth”. This denomination should be ideal in most situations.

Use stamps on important documents, such as a check, travel documents, paperwork you put in court, etc. Where to put the stamp and how many stamps to use depend on the document. On foundational documents and checks, for instance, put a stamp on the right hand corner of the instrument, both on the front and on the back. The bottom right hand corner of the face of a check, note, or bill of exchange signifies the liability. Furthermore, the bottom right hand corner of the reverse of the document is the final position on the page, so no one can endorse anything (using a restricted endorsement or otherwise) after that. You want to have the last word. If you have only one stamp, put it where you are expected to sign and autograph over it cross-wise. In the case of a traffic ticket, for instance, put a stamp on the lower right hand corner where you are supposed to sign and autograph across the stamp at an angle from upper left to lower right.

Also, include this on each document going out from you; such as legal papers or contracts or other important papers and/or coming against you; such as court documents and debt collectors: in, gold ink, pen you social security number without dashes across the upper right hand corner of the front of each page of each document. This is the King’s edict that you are a living soul and not a corporate fiction.

Whenever you are disputing a debt alleged by a presentment you received in the mail; do the gold SS# w/o dashes, the Stamp with autograph and seal and across the front of the document at an angle write the following disclaimer in blue ink. "I dispute this debt and all claims to contract in accordance with 15 USC 1692 G."

Autographing a stamp not only establishes you as the postmaster of the contract but constitutes a cross-claim. Using the stamp process on documents presents your adversaries with a problem because their jurisdiction is subordinate to that of the UPU, which you have now invoked for your benefit. The result in practice of doing this is that whenever those who know what you are doing are recipients of your documents with autographed stamps they back off. If they do not, take the matter to the US Postmaster to deal with. If he will not provide you with your remedy, take the matter to the UPU for them to clean up.

The countries whose stamps would be most effective to use are China, Japan, United States, and Great Britain. Utilizing these countries covers both East and West. However, since the US seems to be the point man in implementing the New World Order, one might most advisably use US stamps and we would suggest using a U. S. $.02 (2 cent stamp) as that was the last authorized stamp under the de jure united States of America.

If you put stamps on documents you submit into court, put a stamp on the back of each page, at the bottom right hand corner about a half inch from each border. Then sign your full name in blue diagonally from the upper left hand corner to the lower right hand corner. Make sure you have ink on the paper on both sides of the stamp. Do not place any stamps on the front of court paperwork since doing so alarms the clerk. By placing your autographed stamp on the reverse lower right hand corner you prevent being damaged by one of the tricks of judges these days. A judge might have your paperwork on his bench, but turned over so only the back side, which is ordinarily blank on every page, is visible. Then if you ask about your paperwork he might say something like, "Yes, I have your paperwork in front of me but I don't find anything."He can't see anything on the blank side of a page. If you place an autographed stamp on the lower right hand corner you foreclose a judge from engaging in this trick.

In addition, when it comes to court documents, the front side is civil and the back side is criminal. Next, you seal with your seal (right thumb print in red ink) on the back side of your court documents. Your red thumb print should go on the right side, at or above the stamp. This provides evidence that you possess the canceled obligation on the civil side. Since there can be no assessment for criminal charges, and you show that you are the holder of the civil assessment, there is no way out for the court.

Also, in any court document you put in, handwrite your EIN number [SS# w/o dashes] in gold on the top right corner of every page, with the autographed stamp on the back side. Use of a notary combined with the postage stamp (and sometime Embassy stamps) gives you a priority mechanism. Everything is commerce, and all commerce is contract. The master of the contract is the post office, and the UPU is the supreme overlord of the commerce, banking, and postal systems of the world. Use of these stamps in this manner gets the attention of those in the system to whom you provide your paperwork. It makes you the master of that post office. Use of the stamp is especially important when dealing with the major players, such as the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Treasury, etc. They understand the significance of what you are doing. Many times they hand documents back to someone using this approach and say, "Have a good day, sir." They don't want any untoward repercussions coming back on them.

If anyone asks you why you are doing what you are doing, suggest that they consult their legal counsel for the significance. It is not your job to explain the law, nor explain such things as your exemption or Setoff Account. The system hangs us by our own words. We have to give them the evidence, information, contacts, and legal determinations they require to convict us. The wise words of Calvin Coolidge, the most taciturn president in US history, are apt. When asked why he spoke so little, he replied, "I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."The bottom line is that whenever you need to sign any legal/commercial document, put a stamp (even a one (1) cent stamp) over where you sign and sign at an angle across it. Let the recipient deal with the significance and consequences of your actions. If you are in a court case, or at any stage of a proceeding (such as an indictment, summons, complaint, or any other hostile encounter with the system), immediately do the following

1. Make a color copy of whatever documents you receive, or scan them in color into your computer;
2. Put a stamp on the lower right-hand-corner of the back of every page and autograph it and place the date over the top of the stamp and your gold SS# w/o dashes just over the date; then seal it with a red ink thumb print seal being careful to overlap both the stamp and your diagonal autograph
3. Write in your social security number in gold ink on the front in the upper right corner of each page;
4. If you have an affidavit, also put an autographed stamp on the upper right hand corner of the first page just under the gold SS#and the lower right hand corner of the back of every page;
5. Make a color copy of your finished documents you receive, or scan them in color into your computer.

ILLUSTRATION OF CANCELLATION

I included the postal stamps “canceled” by affixing a postal stamp to the bottom right hand corner of each page (see example below), and autographing in blue diagonally across the top of each stamp = canceling it, and putting the SS# in gold on top right hand corner without dashes for post master identification and the redemption number, and sign our name at the bottom of stamp. For those who are in the de jure “county”; use your great seal on the left of your autograph and overlap your autograph at least a quarter inch. Then use your postmaster seat directly above the stamp as shown. If you use your Great Seal , do not use the red right thumb print seal.

If you can get a light colored stamp, in a 2 cent denomination, that would be ideal. People who have engaged in this process report that when any knowledgeable judge, attorney, or official sees this, matters change dramatically. All of these personages know what mail fraud is. Since autographing the stamp makes you the postmaster of the contract, anyone who interferes is tampering with the mail and engaging in mail fraud. You can then subpoena the postmaster (either of the post office from which the letter was mailed, or the US Postmaster General, or both), and have them explain what the rules are, under oath for deposition or testimony on the witness stand in open court.

In addition, most of the time when you get official communication it has a red-meter postage mark on the envelope rather than a canceled stamp. This act is mail fraud. If the envelope has a red-meter postage mark on it, they are the ones who have engaged in mail fraud, because there is no canceled stamp. It is the canceled stamp that has the power; an un-canceled stamp has nothing. A red-meter postage mark is an uncanceled stamp. If it is not canceled, it is not paid. One researcher has scanned everything into his computer, and has more red-meter postage marks than he "can shake a stick at." Officials sending things out by canceled stamp is a rarity—perhaps at most 2%.

With the red-metered postage you can trace each communication back to the PO from which it was sent, so you can get the postmaster for that PO, as well as the postmaster general for the US, to investigate the mail fraud involved. It is reasonable to conclude that canceling a stamp both registers the matter and forms a contract between the party that cancels the stamp and the UPU. Using a stamp for postage without canceling it is prima facie evidence that the postmaster of the local PO is committing mail fraud by taking a customer's money and not providing the paid-for service and providing you with the power of a canceled stamp, as required under the provisions of the UPU. When you place an autographed stamp on a document you place that document and the contract underlying it under international law and treaty, with which the courts have no jurisdiction to deal. The system cannot deal with the real you, the living principal (as evidenced and witnessed by jurat (see last page for template). Nor can officials, attorneys, judges, et al., go against the UPU, international law, and treaty. In addition, they have no authority/jurisdiction to impair a contract between you (as the living principal) and the UPU (overseer of all world commerce).

Your cancelled the stamp by autographing diagonally across the stamp and sealing it(right thumb print in red ink just to the right of the stamp and overlaying both the stamp and your autograph). You did so in capacity of being the living principal, as acknowledged by your seal and the jurat on your documents.

If you are in a court case, bring in your red-metered envelopes in court and request the judge to direct the prosecutor to explain the red-meter postage stamp. Then watch their jaws drop. Doing this is especially potent if you also have asked the prosecutor to provide his bar number, since most attorneys in court—especially in US—are not qualified. An attorney in federal court had better have a six-digit bar card or he committed a felony just by walking in and giving his name.

Lastly, if you are charged with mail fraud, subpoena the prosecutor(s) to bring in the evidence on which mail fraud is being alleged, as well as the originals of all envelopes used for mailing any item connected with the case. Then the mail fraud involved was committed by the postmaster of the PO in which the envelope was stamped.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

The Post Office and the International Postal Union The role of the United States Post Office and the Universal Postal Union became a factor in our lawsuits because of several bankruptcies that the United States has been through over the history of the country. When one declares himself a bankrupt, that person is no longer legally competent to conduct his affairs. The court becomes a fiduciary, and appoints a trustee to oversee the affairs of the bankrupt. It does not matter if the bankrupt is a common man, or a nation; except that a nation still has a right to conduct war. Typically the average person anywhere in the world thinks of their Postal
System as a part of, and subservient to, their government.

However, the postal system in the United States has a different legal history than one would expect.

The Post Office and Judicial Courts were established before the seat of the Government.

1. On Thursday, Sept. 17, 1789 we find written, Mr. Goodhue, for the committee appointed for the purpose, presented a bill to amend part of the Tonnage act, which was read the first time. The bill sent from the Senate, for the temporary establishment of the Post Office, was read the second and third time, and passed. The bill for establishing the Judicial Courts . . . , for establishing the seat of government [258] Other references to the Post Office support my theory of the founding forefather's views: POST OFFICE. A place where letters are received to be sent to the persons to whom they, are addressed.
2. The post office establishment of the United States, is of the greatest importance to the people and to the government. The constitution of the United States has invested congress with power to establish post offices and post roads. Art. 1, s. 8, n. 7.
3. By virtue of this constitutional authority, congress passed several laws anterior to the third day of March 1825, when an act, entitled "An act to reduce into one the several acts establishing and regulating the post office department," was passed. 3 Story, U. S. 1825. It is thereby enacted, 1. That there be established, the seat of the government of the United States, a general post office, under the direction of a postmaster general. [259] We need to take notice where the commas are placed on that last sentence. That there be established, the seat of the government of the United States, a general post office, under the direction of a postmaster general. When I set off a clause with commas, I make sure that the sentence makes sense without that clause. Taking out the set-off clause, we read, . . . the seat of the government of the United States under the direction of a postmaster general.

The creation of the Post office occurs before the creation of the seat of the government, and is placed in authority over the seat of government. What is the effect of these legal techniques? The stated position of an object and the sequence of events play an important role in the Universal-Legal-Technology. The effect is that the Government's later bankruptcies in 1859 and 1929 have no legal effect upon the solvent Post-Office.

We can make a case that the formation of the Post-Office before the formation of the government's operations is a stroke of dumb luck. Perhaps it is ingenious, since communication has a higher value than government itself. If any government fails, the people still have a need to communicate with one another to form a new government. And to this day, the Post-Office is still solvent and operational, ready to fulfill its duty to help the people in their communications; to set a new government should a complete breakdown of the existing governmental structures occur in the United States. Sounds like a very good back up plan.

The formation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 has another legal effect that is very important to the Universal-Legal-Technology. The Universal Postal Union unites member countries into a single, worldwide postal territory. [260] We have already learned that any litigant is going into international jurisdiction every time he goes to any court. Since the litigant needs to establish that his papers are official, he uses a dollar postage stamp on the face of the first page. The stamps also invoke postal statutes and the Universal Postal Union jurisdiction.

Currently in the U. S., the stamp of choice is the fox U. S. dollar postage stamp. The stamp is not drawn in a box, making the forty-five-degree lines unnecessary.

The litigant does, however, need to autograph across the stamp, then date the autograph, for two reasons: to comply with postal regulations concerning private mail carriers, and to make a continuance of evidence that the process (paper work) is mail. The continuation of evidence is less of a factor, since the definitions of mail and delivery can include a clerk at a grocery store handing a customer a receipt for groceries.

The legal writers were forced to make the definitions wide enough to encompass the private rural carriers, and private advertisers that have placed advertisements on our doorsteps, or in our hands. I have thought about this issue a lot, and I did not find any other better alternative. Any loophole would have devastated many consumers, and caused a plethora of other laws to be enacted to cover the loophole.

Additionally, on the back of the first page, we authenticate the authority of the Post-Office with an endorsement, and simultaneously authenticate our identity by placing a postage meter stamp, from a postage meter machine that we have purchased in advance, on the lower quarter of the back of the first page. All commercial papers have endorsements to authenticate their authenticity. Again, we autograph across the meter stamp, and date. The postage meter stamp is better than a regular stamp, and stamps are said to have rendered seals superfluous. [261] The purchase of a meter machine requires identification in case the meter machine is tampered with or is stolen. The meter number on the meter stamp can be traced back to the owner (litigant), and therefore authenticates the endorser better than any seal.

What are we doing by placing our paper work into the jurisdiction of the Universal Postal Union? To answer that question, we need to look at the structure and finance of that organization. The official aims and purposes of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) are two: to form a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of correspondence; and to secure the organization and improvement of the postal services and to promote in this sphere the development of international collaboration.

[262] The organization of the circulation of the international mail is based on the freedom of transit, . . . as a result, therefore, only by enduring absolute freedom of transit can the effectual universality of the postal territory be attained.

* * * Freedom of transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the union. Administrations may exchange, through the intermediary of one or more of their number,
both closed mails and open mail according to the needs of the traffic and the requirements of the service. [263] Starting in 1878, the union created a category for territories which were recognized as non independent but which were given all the rights of union membership afforded to clearly independent countries. [264] So the members of the union have been operating as sovereign, independent countries, and their currency is based on the gold French Franc. Gold is the acceptable form of money in international jurisdictions, or paper backed by gold. [265] When we purchase postal money order, the money order is backed by gold, not the fiat money called Federal Reserve Notes.

The FRNs, as some call them, are based instead on a promise to pay a debt. The debt is based only upon the full faith and credit of the United States, and lacks any intrinsic value. Some of the obligations in the convention can, in some states, be introduced into domestic practice without involving a nation's legislative process or without even reaching the desk of the chief executive. [266] The Union also sets forth the principle that postal administrations are responsible for loss of, theft from, or damage to, insured items, and then goes into detail about exceptions to the principle of responsibility, cessation of responsibility, how the sender is indemnified, and the manner in which responsibility is apportioned between postal administrations.

[267] There was only one instance, according to the Belgium delegate, where the bureau would have any power even approximating the right to intervene in the affairs of administrations, that is in the arbitration of disputes, but in this instance the bureau could act only when requested to do so by an administration.

[268] The Functions of the International Bureau for the Universal Postal Union include acting as a clearinghouse for information concerning postal matters.

It also functions as a clearinghouse for international postal accounts and as a conciliator and arbitrator in disputes over postal matters between administrations.

[269] So what we are doing, by placing the postage stamp on our admiralty paperwork and endorsement on the back of the first page, is using the authority of the sovereignty of the longest surviving, solvent, governmental authority in the United States.

Through the admiralty, we are taking the Post-Office and the judicial system back some two hundred years, and simultaneously creating a new territory with all the rights of union membership afforded to clearly independent countries. We are establishing the laws in this new territory with the paper work that we have filed. As we will see later, we are also correcting the errors of the founding forefathers; in that we are also bringing the equal rights that they neglected to give to all the people in the United States. We are eliminating all of the legal deficiencies that handicap the sovereign status of us, the people, within the court. We are guaranteed that all of the parties in the case: the clerk, judge, bailiff, and litigants have the freedom of transit in the admiralty court. If the clerk, judge, or other official fails to deliver our documents as directed, or delay them, or obstruct them, that person is faced with several penalties within the postal statutes and admiralty statutes. The final advantage is that if we are obstructed, because of the transitory nature of the action, we are in the admiralty and can take the case offshore for adjudication in any court in the world.

§ 6201. Assessment authority

How Current is This?

(a) Authority of Secretary
The Secretary is authorized and required to make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes (including interest, additional amounts, additions to the tax, and assessable penalties) imposed by this title, or accruing under any former internal revenue law, which have not been duly paid by stamp at the time and in the manner provided by law. Such authority shall extend to and include the following:

(1) Taxes shown on return

The Secretary shall assess all taxes determined by the taxpayer or by the Secretary as to which returns or lists are made under this title.

(2) Unpaid taxes payable by stamp

(A) Omitted stamps

Whenever any article upon which a tax is required to be paid by means of a stamp is sold or removed for sale or use by the manufacturer thereof or whenever any transaction or act upon which a tax is required to be paid by means of a stamp occurs without the use of the proper stamp, it shall be the duty of the Secretary, upon such information as he can obtain, to estimate the amount of tax which has been omitted to be paid and to make assessment therefore upon the person or persons the Secretary determines to be liable for such tax.

(B) Check or money order not duly paid

In any case in which a check or money order received under authority of section 6311 as payment for stamps is not duly paid, the unpaid amount may be immediately assessed as if it were a tax imposed by this title, due at the time of such receipt, from the person who tendered such check or money order.

(3) Erroneous income tax prepayment credits

If on any return or claim for refund of income taxes under subtitle A there is an overstatement of the credit for income tax withheld at the source, or of the amount paid as estimated income tax, the amount so overstated which is allowed against the tax shown on the return or which is allowed as a credit or refund may be assessed by the Secretary in the same manner as in the case of a mathematical or clerical error appearing upon the return, except that the provisions of section 6213 (b)(2) (relating to abatement of mathematical or clerical error assessments) shall not apply with regard to any assessment under this paragraph.

(b) Amount not to be assessed

(1) Estimated income tax

No unpaid amount of estimated income tax required to be paid under section 6654 or 6655 shall be assessed.

(2) Federal unemployment tax

No unpaid amount of Federal unemployment tax for any calendar quarter or other period of a calendar year, computed as provided in section 6157, shall be assessed.

(c) Compensation of child

Any income tax under chapter 1 assessed against a child, to the extent attributable to amounts includible in the gross income of the child, and not of the parent, solely by reason of section 73

(a), shall, if not paid by the child, for all purposes be considered as having also been properly assessed against the parent.

(d) Required reasonable verification of information returns

In any court proceeding, if a taxpayer asserts a reasonable dispute with respect to any item of income reported on an information return filed with the Secretary under subpart B or C of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 by a third party and the taxpayer has fully cooperated with the Secretary (including providing, within a reasonable period of time, access to and inspection of all witnesses, information, and documents within the control of the taxpayer as reasonably requested by the Secretary), the Secretary shall have the burden of producing reasonable and probative information concerning such deficiency in addition to such information return.

(e) Deficiency proceedings

For special rules applicable to deficiencies of income, estate, gift, and certain excise taxes, see subchapter B.

From: "Genesis" <nyrmind5150@yahoo.com>
Jennifer,
What was the result of your use of that? As a matter of fact, I have been doing some research on this myself. I came across something that supported and seemed to validate the use of this. You can check it out for your self at the link I've included below. It is an e-Book on Banks and Negotiable Instruments.

I've also researched "cancellation." It's actually quite interesting. Stamps were/are considered "negotiable instruments" also. There was a Stamp Act, which was
repealed long ago. But have reason to believe, the procedure "may" still be viable, due to the US's membership with the UPU (Universal Postal Union). Now don't quote me on that. I'm still trying to flesh this out. But the theory is that you become your the Postmaster General, and the placing of the stamp puts the document into international jurisdiction, which should take it out of lessor jurisdictional courts. I heard an interesting phrase with respect to the postmaster general, it goes: "Nothing moves
without the postmaster general." So I would think that we put things (docs) in motion by affixing the stamp. Again, just a theory.

You may also want to look into "cancellation." From my understanding, the subscription of your autograph across the face of the stamp, which doesn't have to be on the stamp itself, but across the envelope AND the stamp, (like the wavy lines the PO uses on a person to person delivery) cancels the stamp. Also, think canceled check, and the banks. There's a definition I came across in business law regarding discharge by cancellation that is interesting too:

"The holder of a negotiable instrument can discharge any party to the instrument by cancellation. UCC 3-605(1)(a) explains how cancellation can occur: 'The holder of an
instrument may even without consideration discharge any party in a manner apparent on the face of the instrument or the endorsement, as by intentionally canceling the instrument or the party's autograph by destruction or mutilation , or by striking out the part's autograph." Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, West's Business Law Texts & Cases. 3d edition, 1986. p. 458.
Link (check out Appendix (C):

Banks and Negotiable Instruments:
http://books.google.com/books?id=_ABDAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=banking+and+negotiable+intstruments#PPA373,M1

Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence
the world-wide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties. Universal Postal Union's headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland. Prior to the establishment of the UPU, a country had to conclude a separate postal treaty with each other country that it wished to carry international mail to or from. The United States called Page 10 of 13for an international postal congress, which was held in 1863. This led Heinrich von Stephan,
German Minister for Posts, to found the Universal Postal Union, the second oldest international organization (after the ITU). It was created in 1874, under the name "General Postal Union", as a result of the Treaty of Berne signed on 9 October 1874. In 1878, the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union". The UPU established that (1) there should be a more or less uniform flat rate to mail a letter anywhere in the world;

(2) postal authorities should give equal treatment to foreign and domestic mail; and

(3) each country should retain all monies it collected for international postage.

One of the most important results of the UPU treaty was that it ceased to be necessary, as it often had been previously, to affix the stamps of any country through which one's letter or package would pass in transit; the UPU provides that stamps of member nations are accepted for the whole international route.

After the foundation of the United Nations, the UPU became its specialized agency. In 1969 the UPU introduced a new system of payment by which fees were payable between countries according to the difference in the total weight of mail between the respective countries. These fees were called terminal dues. As this affected the cost of the delivery of periodicals, the UPU devised a new "threshold" system, which was implemented in 1991. The system sets separate letter and periodical rates for countries which receive at least 150 tonnes of mail annually. For countries with less mail, the original flat rate has been maintained.

The United States has negotiated a separate terminal dues formula with thirteen European countries that includes a rate per piece plus a rate per kilogram, and has a similar arrangement with Canada.

The UPU also operates the system of International Reply Coupons and addresses concerns with ETOEs.

Philatelic activities: the Universal Postal Union, in conjunction with the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP), has developed the WADP Numbering System (WNS), launched on 1 January 2002. The web site (www.wnsstamps.ch/en/) has entries for some 160 countries and emitting postal entities, with over 25,000 registered stamps since 2002. Many of them have images, which generally remain copyrighted by the issuing country, but which the UPU and WADP permit to be downloaded.

[edit] Member countries

The United Nations member states may all become member countries of the UPU. The 192 United Nations member states are all UPU member countries except Andorra, Marshall Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau whose situation with regard to the UPU has not yet been settled. A non-member state of the United Nations may also become a UPU member if two-thirds of the UPU member countries approve its request. Vatican City is a UPU member country and a non-member state observer of the United Nations (as the Holy See).

The UPU has 191 member countries since Timor-Leste joined on 28 November 2003 and Montenegro on 26 July 2006, including the Dutch territories of the Netherlands Antilles and Page 11 of 13Aruba as a single UPU member, and the British overseas territories, which are not independent states. Various other non-recognized countries such as Somaliland, Sealand and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus need to have their mail routed through third countries as the UPU will not allow direct international deliveries (Sealand's mail goes via the UK, TRNC's mail via Turkey, and Somaliland's mail via Ethiopia). Other entities without direct UPU representation are the Palestinian Authority and the Sahrawi Republic / Western Sahara. The members are listed below by alphabetical order in their short-form English names, with the
date of entering the UPU (multiple entry dates for some countries). Territories covered by a sovereign member country are included under that country.
United States of America - 1 July 1875

Territories of the United States of America coming within the Union's jurisdiction by
virtue of article 23 of the Constitution
o Guam
o Puerto Rico
o American Samoa
o United States Virgin Islands