Toggle open close The International Labor Organization (ILO) is one of the oldest multilateral organizations in the United Nations system. The primary products of the organization are nearly 200 conventions to codify labor standards on a variety of topics, promulgating those standards, and assisting countries in improving work conditions. The United States generally supports the mission and goals of the ILO, but membership is not directly aligned to U.S. domestic interests, which is reflected in the rareness of U.S. ratification of ILO conventions. Where the ILO does contribute to U.S. values and priorities is helping improve labor standards and conditions abroad and promoting standards to combat labor-related abuses like child labor, human trafficking, and forced labor. The United States should focus the ILO on these activities, broaden representation of its workers and employers in the organization to reflect their increasingly diverse roles in the modern economy, and defend the historical approach of the ILO deliberations that, while slow, ensures broad consensus.