CERN Council responds to Russian invasion of Ukraine

8th March 2022. The 23 Member States of CERN condemn, in the strongest terms, the military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, and deplore the resulting loss of life and humanitarian impact, as well as the involvement of Belarus in this unlawful use of force against Ukraine. 

Ukraine is an Associate Member State of CERN, and Ukrainian scientists are active in many of the Laboratory’s experiments and activities. Deeply touched by the widespread and tragic consequences of the aggression, the CERN Management and personnel, as well as the scientific community in CERN’s Member States, are working to contribute to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and to help the Ukrainian community at CERN.

The Council held an Extraordinary Session on 8 March, devoted to discussion of future interactions with Russia. 

The Council decided that:

• CERN will promote initiatives to support Ukrainian collaborators and Ukrainian scientific activity in the field of high-energy physics;
• the Observer status of the Russian Federation is suspended until further notice;
• CERN will not engage in new collaborations with the Russian Federation and its institutions until further notice.  

The situation will continue to be monitored carefully and the Council is ready to take any further measures, as appropriate, at its future meetings.

In addition, the CERN Management will comply with all applicable international sanctions.

The CERN Council also expresses its support to the many members of CERN’s Russian scientific community who reject this invasion.

CERN was established in the aftermath of World War II to bring nations and people together for the peaceful pursuit of science: this aggression runs against everything for which the Organization stands. CERN will continue to uphold its core values of scientific collaboration across borders as a driver for peace.

About CERN
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's leading laboratories for particle physics. The Organization is located on the French-Swiss border, with its headquarters in Geneva. Its Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus, Estonia and Slovenia are Associate Member States in the pre-stage to Membership. Croatia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine are Associate Member States. The European Union, Japan, JINR, the Russian Federation, UNESCO and the United States of America currently have Observer status. The Observer status of the Russian Federation is suspended in accordance with the CERN Council Resolution of 8 March 2022. 

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