United Nations Laissez-Passer
Encyclopedia
Travel document
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries...
issued by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
under the provisions of Article VII of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations
Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations
The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, passed by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 February 1946 in New York, and sometimes referred to as the "New York Convention", defines and specifies numerous issues relating to the status of the United Nations, its...
in its offices in New York and Geneva, as well as by the International Labor Organization (ILO)
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
. The UNLP is issued to UN and ILO staff as well as staff members of international organizations such as the WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
, the World Tourism Organization
World Tourism Organization
The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...
and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. The document is written in English and French.
The UNLP is a valid travel document, which can be used like a national passport (in connection with travel on official missions only). As with national passports, some countries/regions accept it for entry without the need for a visa (e.g., Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, etc.), while most require a visa before it can be accepted for entry to the country. This is regardless of the nationality of the UNLP holder.
Most officials hold a blue UNLP, which is similar in legal status to a service passport (however, diplomatic status may be conferred on the holder if a the visa issued in the UNLP is a diplomatic visa). A red UNLP is issued to particularly high officials, and depending on their rank, this may confer diplomatic privileges and the red UNLP may therefore be similar to a diplomatic passport.
Name and signature page
A data page has a visual zone and a machine-readable zone. The visual zone has a photograph of the holder, data about the passport, and data about the LP holder much similar to a normal passport. The nationality and place of birth of the passport holder is not mentioned in a UNLP, but the UN is used in fields similar to 'issuing country'.- Photograph
- Type [of document, which is "LP" for "Laissez-Passer"]
- Code [of the issuing organization, which is "UNO/UNA" for "United Nations Organization/Agency"]
- Laissez-passer No.
- Surname
- Given Name(s)
- Title [Job Title]
- Date of Birth
- Sex
- Official of [UNO/UNA for United Nations Organization/Agency]
- Date of Issue
- Date of Expiration
- Authority [United Nations/Nations Unies followed by the code of the issuing city, e.g. GVA for Geneva]
- Signature (on the opposite page)
The first line of a machine-readable zone (which is at the bottom of the page) of the passport contains a letter to denote the type of travel document (which is despite the Laissez-passer status, it is "P>" for passport), followed by the code normally used for the citizenship of the passport holder (but here: "UNO/UNA" for "United Nations Organization/Agency"), and the name (surname first, then given name or names) of the passport holder. When visa are placed in a UNLP, the same practice should be followed, and in the nationality field, UNO/UNA should be placed. This guideline however is often not observed.