The International Labor Organization (ILO), founded in 1919, is the longest continuously operating intergovernmental organization in modern history and is widely recognized as the arbiter and protector of workers’ rights and employment standards worldwide. It has a unique, tripartite governance structure comprised of representatives of governments, organized labor, and employers from its current 183 member states, each of whom participate in the work of the ILO in a 2-1-1 ratio, respectively. And largely for this reason, with its International Labor Conference or General Conference (often called the “international parliament of labor”) setting its broad policies each year, it has garnered widespread support for nearly 200 conventions that today form the foundation of human rights protection for workers.
