TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL
8 March 2022
EXTRAORDINARY CLOSED COUNCIL
At its 206th extraordinary Closed Session, the Council adopted the following Resolution:
CERN Response to the Aggression against Ukraine
THE COUNCIL,
RECALLING
The Convention for the Establishment of a European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which was signed on 1 July 1953, entered into force on 29 September 1954 and was amended on 17 January 1971;
That the Organization was established in the aftermath of World War II to bring nations and people together for the peaceful pursuit of science;
That Article II.1 of the Convention provides, inter alia, that “[t]he Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements”;
That the core values of the Organization have always been premised upon scientific collaboration across borders as a driver for peace;
That aggression of one country by another runs against the values for which the Organization stands;
That all 23 of CERN’s Member States attending the emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly on 1 March 2022 voted in favour of UN Resolution A/ES-11/L.1 “deplor[ing] in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter” and “deplor[ing] the involvement of Belarus in this unlawful use of force against Ukraine”;
BEARING IN MIND
That Ukraine has been an Associate Member State of CERN since 2016, and Ukrainian scientists are active in many of the Organization’s experiments;
That the CERN Management and personnel, as well as the scientific community in CERN’s Member States, who are deeply touched by the widespread and tragic consequences of the aggression, are working to contribute to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and to help the Ukrainian community at CERN;
That the CERN Management will comply with all applicable international sanctions;
The numerous members of CERN’s Russian scientific community who reject this aggression and with many of whom CERN has trustfully cooperated over the past years;
CONSIDERING
Rule 6 b) of the Council Rules of Procedure, which provides that the Council may, by a two-thirds majority of all Member States, decide to grant regular attendance rights at its Sessions, in particular Observer status, to other persons, States or intergovernmental organisations with which the Organization cooperates;
That the Council granted the Russian Federation Observer status in respect of the construction and operation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) (CERN/1871);
The International Cooperation Agreement concluded between CERN and the Russian Federation in December 2019, which constitutes the overarching framework for cooperation between the Russian Federation and CERN;
The International Cooperation Agreement concluded between CERN and the Republic of Belarus in 1994 concerning the further development of scientific and technical cooperation in high-energy physics;
STRONGLY CONDEMNS
The military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter of the United Nations;
STRONGLY SUPPORTS
The people of Ukraine as well as the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
DEPLORES
The resulting loss of life and humanitarian impact;
The involvement of Belarus in this unlawful use of force against Ukraine;
DECIDES 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
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