Statement on Ukraine
Statement by the Editors of Endocrine Connections in response to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and Belarus
21 March 2022
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Endocrine Connections (EC) will temporarily halt the consideration of scientists working at and representing Russian or Belarussian Institutions for editorial roles at EC. We will also not consider articles with authors affiliated to Russian or Belarussian Institutions for the EC Award.
EC is a member of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows the COPE Core Practices and guidelines, as well as the recommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The EC Editors continue to stand by the principle that editorial decisions should not be affected by the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion of the authors.
COPE guidelines state that “decisions to edit and publish should not be determined by the policies of governments or other agencies outside of the journal itself”. We are of the opinion that the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation cannot be characterised as a “government policy” but represents an act of open war, with terrible consequences unfolding in front of our eyes and affecting millions of men, women, and children. However, we will continue to consider scientific manuscripts originating from Russian and Belarussian institutions for publication in EC without any prejudice, in full compliance with COPE guidelines and the journal’s Ethical Policy.
The need to release this statement fills us with great sadness and we hope that peace will come soon and make full scientific exchange with Russian and Belarussian institutions possible again.
Adrian Clark, Editor-in-Chief of EC
