Postal Agency Helping Stamp Out Complaint That United Nations Costs Too Much

Many complain that the United Nations costs too much. But there is at least one U.N. agency that not only pays its own way, it turns a tidy profit.

In fact, the U.N. Postal Administration makes so much by selling stamps that it ranks among the biggest contributors to the 159-member world organization’s regular operating budget.

The UNPA turns out a lot of stamps--87,600,000 of them in 1986. That means that until recently, officials said, the agency’s net profits averaged $12 million to $15 million a year, placing it about 10th on the U.N. contributors list along with Spain, the Netherlands and Australia.

Profits last year slipped to about $10 million, but that still made the UNPA the 11th largest contributor to the 1986 regular budget, ahead of 12th-placed Brazil’s assessment of $9.8 million.

$846-Million 1986 Budget

The 1986 U.N. budget was $846.4 million, with the United States contributing 25% or $210.3 million. Other major payers were Japan ($75.9 million), the Soviet Union ($71.4 million), West Germany ($57.9 million), France ($44.6 million), the United Kingdom ($34 million), Italy ($26.5 million), Canada ($21.4 million), Spain ($14.2 million), Netherlands ($12.2 million) and Australia ($11.6 million).

The Postal Administration, with a staff of only 100 people, contributes much more to the regular budget than such countries as Sweden, China, Belgium and even oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Of course, many countries make extra contributions to U.N. famine, peacekeeping and other activities on top of regular budget assessments. The United States puts up about $1 billion a year.

But the UNPA, the world’s only organization other than governments allowed to issue postage stamps, still manages to rank 25th on the overall list.

$30 Million in Sales

Sales of U.N. stamps average $30 million a year, with about 80% bought by collectors and 20% used for actual mailing, according to Ove Madsen, the Danish deputy chief of the UNPA’s branch in Geneva.

“Sales and profits have slipped,” Madsen said, “because most of the stamps are bought by collectors and there are fewer collectors around these days, as they (collectors) tend to be older people.

“There was a time when kids used to collect stamps. But nowadays kids prefer video games.”

Escalating Values

Philatelists can make a lot of money by collecting U.N. stamps. Some of the early series have gone up 1,000% in value.

But one elderly lady in New York, who always bought the stamps to support the United Nations, missed a big chance years ago when she used her sewing machine to perforate a rare non-perforated issue.

The postal agency was established in 1950, and the first stamps appeared Oct. 24, 1951.

Mail with U.N. stamps can be sent only from the U.N. in New York, Geneva and Vienna. There are six different series each year, and they illustrate such U.N. activities as fighting hunger and drug abuse, exploration of outer space, disarmament and, most recently, child immunization.

About 500 artists worldwide compete for the right to design each series, with $2,000 for the winners. Madsen says many of the artists decline the money, being satisfied with the honor.

Flag Series

The administration has also launched a flag series with 16 stamps a year showing the flags of U.N. member nations. They are chosen by Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to prevent any favoritism charges.

Personalities always have been taboo because every country has its own heroes and rivalries would make selection all but impossible.