Studies and interventions should not be conducted without formal ethical approval according to standards set by the committee for research ethics in the study country. There are countries in the South where formal bodies for research ethics are still not established. In that case the Ministry of Health/Social Affairs should be addressed for ethical approval. The general principles of medical research ethics set by the Helsinki Declaration in 1964 are still valid.
Proper ethics include clear guidelines for scientific writing and publication. The international standard is described in the Vancouver Convention by the International Committee of Medical Editors.
Still, ethical guidelines for studies of relations of power, oppression, and war may be controversial: Husum H (PhD Thesis 2003): Whose ethics – theirs or ours?
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