WTO warns on critical mineral conflicts

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned the U.N. Security Council that surging global demand for critical minerals is fueling conflicts and poverty in resource-rich developing countries, particularly in Africa. She highlighted that major economies are racing to secure supplies of minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths, risking increased interstate competition and locking developing nations into low-level production. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres noted that armed groups in eastern Congo benefit from illegal mining and smuggling, and that natural resource exploitation in Sudan has fueled atrocities and displacement. Okonjo-Iweala proposed three priorities: local processing and value addition, strengthening international rule of law, and resource-rich countries working together to leverage their mineral wealth for economic transformation.