NEW YORK, 23rd July, 2026 (WAM) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to adopt four urgent priorities to ensure natural resources become a driver of peace and development rather than a source of conflict and violence, warning that governance challenges and the illicit exploitation of resources have become major drivers of armed conflicts worldwide.

Guterres said that the control and exploitation of natural resources are dramatically altering the causes, dynamics, and outcomes of conflict. He reiterated, "No more exploitation. No more plundering."

Speaking at a Security Council meeting on natural resources governance, Guterres stressed, "It is time to break the age-old pattern - where resources are extracted, value is captured elsewhere, and impoverished communities are left behind to cope with the environmental and socioeconomic damage."

He added, "It is time to close the gap between a state's recognised sovereignty over its natural resources, and its sovereign rights in practice."

The UN chief said countries and communities "must benefit - first and most - from the resources in their own backyard", adding that the UN is supporting national authorities in strengthening governance and institutions, improving regulatory frameworks, and ensuring that minerals contribute to development and peacebuilding.

The Secretary-General outlined four urgent priorities for the way ahead: ensuring justice for countries and communities that have resources; curbing illicit flows and strengthening transparency across mineral supply chains; the peaceful settlement of disputes over natural resources; and taking climate analysis into account.

The Secretary-General also underscored that critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements are gaining in strategic importance. Surging demand from global markets is creating vital opportunities to advance development in producing countries.

"But it is also driving intense geopolitical competition, putting pressure on concentrated supply chains, and fuelling conflict - with dire humanitarian consequences," he added.

He said, "We must curb illicit flows and strengthen transparency across mineral supply chains. Natural resources are often extracted in one country, transported through another, processed elsewhere, and ultimately sold on global markets. Effective action must address the full value chain - not just the point of extraction."

He added that cooperation among producing, transit and consuming states is vital to closing regulatory and enforcement gaps.

For her part, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, "Surging global demand for critical minerals should represent a once-in-a-generation chance for Africa and other resource-rich developing geographies - to harness new wealth, to accelerate industrial development, and to lift the living standards of millions."

"These opportunities should become the foundation for peace and prosperity, not conflict and poverty," Okonjo-Iweala said, urging transparent and equitable management of natural resources to support sustainable development and long-term stability.