General Eisenhower. in his recent testimony before a committee of the House of Representatives. defined a stateless person as being "any individual who does not want to return to his former area because of the certainty of persecution." Mr. President. following World War I a similar situation was confronted. and it was met by the establishment of wha:t came to be known as Nansen passports. The name came from the Norwegian Nansen. who was at the head of the official committee seeking to protect the rights of these refugees and these displaced persons. The socalled Nansen passports. which were issued under the authority of the League of Nations. served a very useful purpose. as all students of that era know. In later years. after the emergency had passed. they were unfortunately exploited in some instances. In other words. it may be that the Nansen passports were used for too long a time following World War I. But there can be no question about the tremendously useful and humane and indispensable service rendered by these socalled passports in the years immediately following the war. It seems to me that there is very great need today for the equivalent of the Nansen passports for the benefit of these refugees and these displaced persons. I know of nothing which presently could take their place. or offer an equivalent protection. I know of nothing we could do to more effectively put hope into hundreds of thousands of human breasts in these hapless areas which suffer the heaviest of postwar burdens.
Keywords matched
refugees