A UN passport? (Part One)

There’s one blue planets, but almost 200 man-made countries spread over it, with their own rules, government systems, borders and… passports! I like to think that I’m a citizen of the world and wonder if I could trade my pair of American and French travel documents for a light blue, UN passport? 

Nope, that’s not available. Sure, there's a UN travel document called the United Nations laissez-passer (UNLP), but it's not a passport in the traditional sense (it doesn't show nationalities). 

It identifies someone as a UN official for official business only and is available to staff, experts on mission, and high-level personnel, requiring you to be employed by the UN or related agencies and travel for work, with different colors (blue for staff, red for senior officials) offering varying benefits like functional immunity, but not even full diplomatic immunity. 

The select few who get one are the officials and employees of the UN and its specialized agencies (like ILO, IAEA, ICC). Also a few individuals designated as experts for specific UN assignments. And then there’s a special, red UN laissez-passer (like the one António Guterres uses), with more diplomatic perks for senior officials. 

So, if we aren’t part of that select list, forget about that special travel document. Tomorrow we’ll talk about those of us who claim to have more than one nationality and the rules that apply to them. So if international travel is your cup of tea, don’t miss it!