The UN Is Still Doing Business With Russia, Is That O.K.? 24 August 2023

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has not discouraged the United Nations from buying millions of dollars of goods and services from Moscow, according to the latest annual statistical report on UN procurement, published in July.

In 2022, UN purchases from Russia, which has a decades-long procurement relationship with the UN, totaled $256.62 million, according to the report produced by the UN Office for Project Services (Unops), compared with $282.25 million in 2021. But while UN procurement with Russia decreased by a modest nine percent in 2022 over the previous year, the question arises: Should the UN be doing business with Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, who has flagrantly violated the UN Charter by invading its neighbor Ukraine?

For context, the United States was the largest supplier in procurement volume in 2022 at the UN, totaling $2.4 billion, followed by Belgium, with $1.7 billion, and Britain with $1.3 billion, according to the annual report.

Russia’s mission to the UN did not respond to PassBlue’s request for comment regarding the new procurement report...

Despite the collective condemnation and calls for peace, UN business with Russia has carried on, out of the limelight. Further complicating matters is that procurement contracts documented between the UN and various entities and governments are not made public. Additionally, the UN’s global marketplace website, where supplier names are listed, reserves the right to withhold supplier names for “security reasons,” when sharing their names would “breach confidentiality,” or if the UN is “unable to provide the supplier’s name” for reasons that are not explained.

According to the 2022 report compiled by Unops, the top-three UN buyers of Moscow’s goods and services — which entails a wide array of products, such as helicopters, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and administrative services — included the World Food Program (WFP), purchasing $100 million in goods and services; followed by the UN Secretariat at $90 million and Unicef with $46.5 million. However, total procurement values for 2022 do not necessarily reflect new business with Russia that year but are likely to include actual payments made toward long-term contracts signed before the full war in Ukraine began.

Melissa Labonte, a political science professor at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., says, however, that honoring multiyear procurement contracts with Russia, even if they were established before the war in Ukraine, is still “incredibly problematic” for the international body.

“The UN procurement division of code of conduct does communicate that contractors will abide by UN Charter principles regarding human rights norms and standards,” she said in an email to PassBlue. “More sunlight should be given to this issue if the UN cares about its legitimacy as a global actor.” (The UN supplier code of conduct)...

Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine — in its 18th month — is not the first instance where the UN’s procurement relationship with a member state that is violating the UN Charter and potentially committing war crimes has been openly criticized. Syria, for example, has been undergoing a civil war for 12 years, but the UN still does business with the country...