| Nansen passport | |
|---|---|
 The front cover of a Nansen passport (green stripe), written in French, the diplomatic language | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by | League of Nations |
| First issued | 1922 |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Statelessrefugees |
| Expiration | 1938 |
Nansen passports, originally and officiallystateless persons passports, were internationally recognizedrefugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by theLeague of Nations's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees tostatelessrefugees.[1] They quickly became known as "Nansen passports" for their promoter, the Norwegian statesman and polar explorerFridtjof Nansen.
The end ofWorld War I sawsignificant turmoil, leading to a refugee crisis. Numerous governments were toppled, and national borders were redrawn, often along generally ethnic lines. Civil war broke out in some countries. Many people left their homes because of war or persecution or fear thereof. The upheaval resulted in many people being without passports, or even nations to issue them, which prevented much international travel, often trapping refugees.
The precipitating event for the Nansen passport was the 1921 announcement by the new government of theSoviet Union revoking the citizenship of Russians living abroad, including some 800,000 refugees from theRussian Civil War.[2] The first Nansen passports were issued following an international agreement reached at the Intergovernmental Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, convened byFridtjof Nansen in Geneva from July 3, 1922, to July 5, 1922,[3] in his role as High Commissioner for Refugees for theLeague of Nations.[4] By 1942, they were honoured by governments in 52 countries.
In 1924, the Nansen arrangement was broadened to also includeArmenian, and in 1928 toAssyrian,Bulgarian, and Turkish refugees.[5] Approximately 450,000 Nansen passports were provided[6] to stateless people and refugees who needed travel documents, but could not obtain one from a national authority.
Following Nansen's death in 1930, the passport was handled by theNansen International Office for Refugees within the League of Nations. At that point the passport no longer included a reference to the 1922 conference, but were issued in the name of the League. The office was closed in 1938; passports were thereafter issued by a new agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees under the Protection of the League of Nations in London.[7][8]
TheNansen International Office for Refugees was awarded the 1938Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to establish the Nansen passports.[9][10]
While Nansen passports are no longer issued, existing national and supranational authorities, including the United Nations, issue travel documents for stateless people and refugees, includingcertificates of identity (or "alien's passports") andrefugee travel documents.[citation needed]
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