Sapienza's Academic Senate, Board of Governors and Interdepartmental Coordination Committee, meeting in joint session, unanimously approved the addition to the ‘Guidelines on Compliance of Research Activities on Dual-Use Topics in Collaborations Outside the European Union’. With this measure, our University strengthens its internal measures to guarantee the ethics and integrity of scientific research and introduces more stringent procedures, with specific provisions for non-EU countries that pose a risk to human rights, such as Israel and Russia, with regard to potentially dual-use research.

‘The protection of human rights and respect for freedom, ethics and integrity in research are values that define our community, which we have been working on since the early months of my term as Rector by establishing the Ethics Committee for Transdisciplinary Research,’ says Rector Antonella Polimeni, ’ and, in 2024, the Panel of Experts on Dual Use Issues. Today, with these new measures, we are taking a further step towards research that is increasingly attentive to its potential impact on society, introducing the role of a specific Departmental Contact Person for dual-use research compliance and defining a stringent procedure that may also result in the rejection of the request.’

The measure also addresses potential risks and critical issues concerning research contracts commissioned by non-EU countries on potentially dual-use topics involving private entities. In light of the current international situation, the list of countries at risk for human rights includes, among others Israel, due to its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories, military operations in Gaza and violations of international humanitarian law in these contexts; and the Russian Federation, given the increasing restrictions on civil liberties, the internal repression of political dissent, military actions in Ukraine and allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in conflict contexts.