US Sides with Russia Again in Geneva

In a striking move, the United States took yet another step back from Ukraine and its allies by abstaining from a key vote at the International Labour Organization (ILO). As Russia attempted to weaken a resolution at the UN labour agency’s governing body that condemned its invasion of Ukraine and urged it to withdraw its troops, Washington’s silence spoke volumes – signalling a major shift in US policy as the Trump administration pursues a controversial ceasefire deal.

The resolution was quickly approved by consensus after Russia’s proposed amendments were overwhelmingly rejected by 35 countries. Only China and Sudan openly supported Moscow in a show-of-hands vote, while Washington joined Brazil, India, Bangladesh, Senegal and other members of the governing body in refusing to take a stance.

Ukraine’s worsening crisis

Since March 2022, the UN labour agency, at the request of its member states, has been monitoring the impact of the Ukraine war on the world of work while some of Russia’s privileges have remained suspended for violating international labour conventions.

Its latest report details the deteriorating conditions. While economic growth in Ukraine has exceeded expectations largely thanks to foreign financial aid, the report notes that hardships persist. Nine million Ukrainians live in poverty, while 3.6 million are internally displaced, and 6.8 million are refugees abroad – a situation that could worsen as Trump’s aid cuts hinder humanitarian operations in the country.

The report also refers to Russia’s attacks on critical infrastructure. Strikes on Ukraine’s power grid last year left millions without electricity amid freezing temperatures. On 8 January, a Russian-guided bomb hit an industrial facility in Zaporizhizhia, killing at least 13 workers and bystanders and injuring another 110  – the deadliest single attack on civilians in nearly two years, according to the UN. The occupied southern city could very well be at the centre of the debate as Trump suggests that Ukraine may have to give up its power plant of the same name as part of a ceasefire deal.

‘Anti-Russian ILO’?

The confrontational scenes have become a regular occurrence at the ILO’s closed-door meetings. According to a source who was present, Russia accused the ILO and the UN of being “anti-Russian”, denying there is a war. Moscow proposed replacing “aggression conducted by the Russian Federation” with the more neutral term “situation” in Ukraine in the draft resolution.

Over 40 western nations hit back, condemning “Russia's brutal, illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine” in a statement, with the US’s notable exception, which instead settled for a brief statement calling for peace to be achieved quickly with no mention of Russia’s aggression.

This is the second such abstention in Geneva, following a similar move at the World Trade Organization last month. At the UN General Assembly, the US went even further, voting with North Korea and other Russian allies against a western-backed resolution denouncing the invasion and tabling a more conciliatory text, raising concerns that Ukraine may no longer rely on the US as a leading force to plead its cause at multilateral bodies.

Not far enough

Vasyl Andreyev, vice president of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, argues that the ILO’s response doesn’t go far enough. Workers’ rights in the Russian-controlled areas remain largely unaddressed despite reports of teachers being pressured to spread Russian propaganda, workers going without pay and Ukrainian railway workers reportedly forced to transport troops and munitions, according to the Ukrainian representative, whose union has been “dismantled, expropriated and forbidden” in the occupied territories and replaced by the Russian trade union, FNPR.

The abduction of 10 workers from the Zaporizhzhia plant since 2022 was briefly mentioned in Tuesday’s report, but the broader situation of workers in the Russian-held plant hasn’t been thoroughly reported on, with only one report on the issue produced back in 2022.

Ukraine’s allies have also hesitated to push for stronger actions. A longstanding issue has been the ILO’s sub-regional office in Moscow, which despite relocating most staff to Budapest and suspending programmes in Russia, remains open. While Western nations have called for its closure, no formal request has been made yet. A spokesperson for the United Kingdom said: “We advocate reclassifying the Moscow office from a regional office, serving nine other countries, to a country one, serving only Russia, ready for when technical assistance is permitted to resume by the Governing Body.”

As to the occupied territories, with Trump’s strong-arming approach for a ceasefire where Kyiv is likely to be left with little room to negotiate, the chances of Ukraine recovering them are slim. Some observers believe it might be time for the ILO and other UN institutions to think about implementing more comprehensive, long-term monitoring to hold Russia accountable, similar to what has existed in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel for the past 40 years.