The Nansen International Office for Refugees (''french: Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés'') was an organization established in 1930 by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

and named after

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

, soon after his death, which was internationally in charge of

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s from war areas between 1930 and 1939. It is noted for developing the

Nansen passport Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees to stateles ...

which allowed stateless people to travel between countries. It received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

in 1938.

History

The ''Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés'' was established in 1930 by the League of Nations, shortly after the death of its name patron Fridtjof Nansen to continue his successful work in international aid for refugee. It thus continued the organization in Geneva, Switzerland, founded by Nansen in 1921. The League also provided the administrative expenses for the Nansen Office though only for fees charged for the Nansen passport since its revenues for welfare and relief were obtained from private contributions. The organization was to supply material and political support to refugees. For refugees from the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

or from the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

-torn

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, the Nansen aid was not applicable, though many countries refused to accept the refugees. In spite of such problems, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the organization in 1938 for its work, but due to its dissolution shortly afterwards, the prize money was received by a newly founded refugee organization of the League of Nations. The office was dissolved at the same time as the League dissolved the High Commission (established in 1933) because of the problems surrounding German refugees after the dissolution of the Third Reich. File:Nansen cs cover.jpg, Nansen passport cover,
Police office, Prague, 1930 File:Nansen cs stamp.jpg, A stamp in a Nansen passport,
Nansen International Office for Refugees

Accomplishments

The Nansen Office accomplished numerous tasks while it existed. The Office was responsible for the adoption by fourteen countries of the 1933 Refugee Convention which was a modest charter of human rights. The Nansen Office was instrumental in finding shelter in specially constructed houses in villages in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

for 40,000

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

, after the resettlement of another 10,000 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

. The Nansen International Office for Refugees was responsible for the successful settlement of the Saar refugees in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

after 1935.

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nansen International Office for Refugees was awarded the 1938

for its efforts to establish the Nansen passports.

References

Bibliography

* Adams, Walter, ''Extent and Nature of the World Refugee Problem'', The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 203 (May 1939) 26-36. * ''Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees''. Paris, Nansen Office for Refugees, 1938. * Hansson, Michael, ''The Refugee Problem and the League of Nations''. Conference held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Oslo, January 7, 1938. Geneva, 1938. * Macartney, Carlile A., ''Refugees: The Work of the League''. London, 1930. * Nansen, Fridtjof, ''Armenian Refugees'', League of Nations Document C. 237. 1924. * Nansen, Fridtjof, ''Russian Refugees: General Report on the Work Accomplished up to March 15, 1922'', League of Nations Document C. 124. M. 74. 1922. * Nansen International Office for Refugees. ''Report by the Governing Body to the Twelfth Assembly of League of Nations'' .27. 1931.See also Report by M. Michael Hansson, Former President of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office for Refugees, on the Activities of the Office from July 1 to December 31, 1938. . 19. 1939. xii(1939. xii. B.2). * Simpson, Sir John Hope, ''The Refugee Problem: Report of a Survey''. London, 1939. * ''Statutes of Nansen International Office for Refugees as Approved by the Council on January 19th, 1931'', League of Nations, Official Journal, February 1931, pp. 309–311.

External links

* {{Authority control League of Nations Organizations awarded Nobel Peace Prizes International Office for Refugees Organisations based in Switzerland Aftermath of war Statelessness Refugee aid organizations in Europe Organizations established in 1930 Organizations disestablished in 1938