The Congress continued on Wednesday after successfully establishing a quorum with representatives from 95 UPU member states who are physically present in Abidjan. The COVID-19 pandemic had made #traveling to #Congress a severe #challenge for many member states (#MS), and therefore the quorum was eagerly awaited. In view of this high level of attendance despite the pandemic, certain UPU MS present in Abidjan questioned the necessity of allowing remote participation and voting as proposed by Congress.

The Opening Plenary session, at which amendments to the rules of Procedure of Congress to allow remote participation in the 27th #UPU Congress and for general #legal, terminological consistency and streamlining purposes were proposed, had to be suspended after the USA requested a motion for suspension which was then supported by 84 of the UPU MS.

Consequently, Monday’s Opening Plenary has again been postponed, until Wednesday for technical reasons. It has been tasked with finding a compromise #solution to ensure that those MS and observers eager to participate, but unable to attend in person at the 27th UPU Congress can be involved.

MS were engaged in consensus-finding efforts which seek to ensure that the #postal #community, MS, #operators, and the wider postal sector players can all contribute to helping the 27th UPU Congress establish a truly inclusive universal postal network all Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, these consensus efforts failed, with the African MS and Ivory Coast, the host state, feeling mistreated and tricked into a situation in which their responsibility for running the Congress had been withdrawn, with the Congress modified to become a fully #hybrid #event at which #participation and #voting could be conducted both in Abidjan but also fully remotely using electronic means. The host country felt that its efforts to ensure the safest Congress in the UPU’s history had been disregarded by those MS not attending in person, to the disadvantage of those who had made considerable #efforts to attend in person just as the UPU Constitution and Rules of Congress foresee.

After some further discussion in the evening, the USA asked to suspend the meeting again, to use the night to find a consensus. The Opening Plenary was therefore suspended until 9:00, 12 August.

#update #congress #challanges #upu #covid #pandemicimpact