STAMP ISSUES RELATED TO THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

 

Cyprus - 75th Anniversary of ICAO

 

Issue date: 10/09/2019

 

 

ICAO’s 75th Anniversary emblem.

Text: ICAO 2019 / 75 / YEARS OF CONNECTING THE WORLD.

Print run: 90,000.

 

Cancelled to order (CTO).

 

Stamp with “SPECIMEN” overprint.

Sheetlet of 8 stamps.

 

Philatelic notice showing the various philatelic products related to this issue.

 

 

Errors in the following text related to ICAO:

1.     According to article 43 of the Chicago Convention, the official name of the Organization is: International Civil Aviation Organization. The word Organization should be written with the letter “z”. However, the British spelling of this word is "Organisation”.

2.    ICAO was established by the Chicago Convention signed on 7 December 1944 (and not 1.12.1944 as per text).

3.    In 2019, 193 States had adhered to the Chicago Convention; the Commonwealth of Dominica became the 193rd Member State only in April 2019.

4.    Standards and Recommendations (SARPs) are applicable to international (and not strictly to domestic) law.

 

 

Official First Day Cover (front and back). The cachet at the left-side shows a generic aircraft (depicted in the 75th anniversary emblem of ICAO), the emblem of the UPU (without the wreath of olive tree branches), and the emblem of the Council of Europe (somewhat altered and truncated).

 

 

Background: As per regular practice in past, Cyprus again commemorated several events and anniversaries in one issue released on 10 September 2019.

 

Three stamps were part of this issue titled “Anniversaries and Events” (see pictures here-below):

1.     70th Anniversary of the Council of Europe. In 2019, Cyprus Post participated actively in the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe by issuing a commemorative stamp. As the theme of the anniversary, the text in Greek on the stamp and the miniature sheet ΤΑ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΑ ΜΑΣ, ΟΙ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΕΣ ΜΑΣ, Η ΕΥΡΩΠΗ ΜΑΣ means OUR RIGHTS, OUR FREEDOMS, OUR EUROPE (in French: NOS DROITS, NOS LIBERTÉS, NOTRE EUROPE). During its 70-year operation, the Council of Europe has significantly contributed to promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Europe Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The Republic of Cyprus is an active member of the Organisation based in Strasbourg, since 24 May 1961. The Republic has also undertaken the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers five times and the last time was from November 2016 to May 2017. The active participation of the Cyprus Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is remarkable. Cyprus became the 16th Member State of the Council of Europe on 24 May 1961.

At least ten other countries issued stamps to commemorate the 70th of the Council of Europe, as follows: Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, France, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, San Marino, Spain, and Ukraine. 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe and was also the occasion to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Council of Europe is an international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states in 2019, covers approximately 820 million people and operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros. The organisation is distinct from the 28-nation European Union (EU), although it is sometimes confused with it, partly because the EU has adopted the original European Flag which was created by the Council of Europe in 1955, as well as the European Anthem. No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe is an official United Nations Observer.

The Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg.

The Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg, France. In 2019, it employed 2 200 people; it maintains external and liaison offices to other international organisations. Designed by French architect Henry Bernard and inaugurated in 1977, the Palais de l'Europe is the Council of Europe's principal building.  Are pictured on the stamp: the Palais de l'Europe as designed by architect Bernard, the official logo of the 70th anniversary (at the upper-right) and the emblem of the Council of Europe (at the lower-right).

Emblem of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe has since 1955 used as its official symbol, the European Flag with 12 golden stars arranged in a circle on a blue background. To avoid confusion with the European Union which subsequently adopted the same flag in the 1980s, as well as other European institutions, the Council of Europe uses a modified version with a lower-case "e" surrounding the stars which is referred to as the "Council of Europe Logo". Its musical anthem since 1972, the "European Anthem", is based on the "Ode to Joy" theme from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth symphony. On 5 May 1964 marking the 15th anniversary of its founding, the Council of Europe established 5 May of each year as the Europe Day. The wide private and public use of the European Flag is encouraged to symbolise a European dimension.

 

 

 

2.     75th Anniversary of ICAO celebrated on 7 December 2019, corresponding to the 75th anniversary of the end of the Chicago Conference and the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as the Chicago Convention). For information, Cyprus previously participated in the commemoration of the 30th and the 50th anniversary by issuing stamps. Click on the hyperlinks to view those issues.

 

 

Emblem of the 75th anniversary of ICAO,

as used by Cyprus in this issue.

 

3.     20 Years EMS Cooperative. The EMS (Express Mail Service) Cooperative was created at the 22nd Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), in Beijing, China on 10 September 1999. EMS is an international postal express mail service, for documents and merchandise, offered by postal operators of the UPU, connecting every business and citizen in more than 190 countries and territories worldwide. The EMS Cooperative is an express delivery service and promotes cooperation among its member Posts to provide a high-quality, reliable and visible express mail service worldwide.

UPU’s Emblem.

To celebrate, postal operators around the world have issued a special joint EMS joint commemorative stamp, specially created by the UPU's International Bureau to mark the occasion. The stamp was unveiled at the EMS Cooperative's Anniversary reception and is proving popular with postal operators around the world, 22 countries and territories (Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Paraguay, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Wallis et Futuna) issued the stamp. The commemorative stamp was issued on 10 September 2019, the exact day of the founding of the EMS Cooperative. The special stamp template has been created by the UPU's International Bureau for this occasion. The inscription on the stamp is “Delivering excellence 1999-2019” and “UPU EMS Cooperative”, on two lines.