War, human rights, and medical scientific publishing: European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine will accept from now on only papers by authors signing the UN Declaration on Human Rights

War has stricken Europe again, but war never stopped around the world. We see death from bombs but also famine due to economic restrictions. We will see orphans and people with disability increasing tremendously, but this is continuously happening worldwide. We cannot state that war in Europe is different from what has been happening and is happening everywhere else. Aggressions and fights, actions and counteractions, offence and defence happened, are happening, and unfortunately will happen. Scale, modality, reasons, and actors involved play a role, too. Nevertheless, we recognise that what is happening now is making things more tangible in Europe because it is just around the corner from our everyday life. Nevertheless, better understanding calls for action beyond this war, these people with disabilities, these populations, and these scientists. Scientists: we have friends and colleagues of our PRM European community on both sides, and we have worked with them in the last years to scale up PRM in their countries. We do not know the specific ideas of each of them, but we believe that none of them wants the war. We thought of them, all of them while deciding what the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine should do. And it was not easy. In the end, we took a decision with long term effects, a sign of change and of having become more conscious of what has always gone on globally. We agreed on a statement against war and violence wherever happening. We decided not to take a party in the conflict, not because we do not have ideas, but because medicine must remain neutral to help the victims. We vote for the injured, the sufferers, and their lives today and in the future, with all the consequences they will bear the rest of their time on earth. For all these reasons, we decided in favour of Universal Human Rights.¹ We recognise that this will be symbolic, it will be a drop in the ocean, but we also think that we all must contribute in some way. Inaction is unacceptable, but wrong actions could increase the damage. We do not know if this is the best action, but we see it as something permanent from now on due to our better understanding and reflections. We are also ready to join proposals by others if this is the case, making this decision the first one that could evolve in time. From today, effective immediately, no papers will be accepted in the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine without formal acceptance by the authors of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. This statement will accompany the Conflict of Interest and Ethical declarations all authors must sign when submitting their papers. It could look as if we increase the burden of bureaucracy on the shoulders of authors. It is not. It is just a signature. It is a symbol. But it is also a concrete action against this war, all wars, and in favour of human beings suffering for whatever other reasons linked to violence and abuse.