UN and WTO Urge Countries to Turn Critical Minerals into Jobs Not Conflict

Overview

• WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo‑Iweala told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that surging demand for minerals used in batteries and renewables is now a strategic source of interstate competition and a “once‑in‑a‑lifetime” chance for resource‑rich countries to capture more value.
• U.N. Secretary‑General António Guterres warned the same week that illegal mining and smuggling have helped finance armed groups and fuel violence in eastern Congo and resource‑driven fighting in Sudan, with civilians bearing the cost.
• Okonjo‑Iweala outlined three priorities to convert mineral wealth into development: insist that producing countries secure more local processing and refining, strengthen the rule of law, and coordinate collectively to stop raw‑export dependence.
• Africa holds a large share of key deposits—roughly 30 percent of global critical minerals with Congo producing over 70 percent of the world’s cobalt—which raises both opportunity for jobs and industry and clear risks of deforestation, water pollution and human‑rights abuses when governance is weak.
• The U.N. is now helping countries from Argentina to Zambia build rules, skills and local monitoring so mining can create jobs and protect communities, and experts say stronger multilateral oversight could reshape supply chains and reduce the chance that minerals fund conflict.