Office international Nansen pour les réfugiés

The Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés (English: Nansen International Office for Refugees), was an organization of the League of Nations named after Fridtjof Nansen, which was internationally in charge of refugees from war areas from 1930 to 1939. It is noted for developing the Nansen passport which allowed stateless people to travel between countries. It received the Nobel Peace Prize 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 in order to continue his successful work in international refugee aid. 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 Armenia commission of the League of Nations. From left, on the first row are C.E. Depuis, Fridtjof Nansen and G. Carle. In the background are Pio Le Savio (left) and Vidkun Quisling (right).

The organization was to supply material and political support to the refugees. For refugees from the Third Reich or from the civil war-torn Spain, 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 for its work in 1938, but due to its dissolution shortly afterwards, the prize money was received by a newly founded refugee organization of the League of Nations. The dissolution of the office happened at the same time as the League dissolved its High Commission, which was established in 1933 because of the problems surrounding the German refugees after the dissolution of the Third Reich.

Accomplishments

The Nansen Office accomplished numerous tasks while it existed. One example is that the Office was responsible for the adoption by fourteen countries of the Refugee Convention of 1933 which was a modest charter of human rights. The Nansen Office made it so that 40,000 Armenians found shelter in specially constructed houses in villages in Syria and Lebanon after the resettlement of another 10,000 in Erivan. The Office was also responsible for the successful settlement of the Saar refugees in Paraguay after 1935.

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. London, League of Nations Union, 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 [A.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. [A. 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.