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Revival of Nansen Passports for Refugees Will Be Discussed at Parley in Cuba Today

March 10, 1943
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A committee of Latin Americans will meet in Cuba tomorrow to consider establishing a system of Nansen passports for political refugees, the Havana radio reported today in a Spanish broadcast recorded by U. S. Government monitors.

Nansen passports were issued after the first world war by a committee of the League of Nations, headed by Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer. They were planned for use by so-called “stateless citizens,” persons born in countries which had changed political form. They have not been in general use since shortly before the current war.

The New York Times, in an editorial today, strongly urges the employment of refugee engineers end skilled technicians in American war industries and asks that refugee doctors be allowed to practice. “We need all the physicians and trained engineers that we can enroll,” the editorial says. “As matters stand, we know more about the aliens within this country than we do about the native born. Political beliefs and affiliations, education, training – everything is known. Even fingerprints are on file. It ought to be no difficult matter with all this information to weed out the undesirables and make the most of the rest.”

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