UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Surging global demand for critical minerals should be "a once-in-a-lifetime chance" for resource-rich countries in Africa and elsewhere to harness wealth and improve life for millions – but it has too easily triggered violence and poverty, the head of the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned the United Nations Security Council that "critical minerals are increasingly viewed as strategic assets, not just commodities, and a major source of interstate competition."

Major economies are racing to get supplies of the minerals needed for technology from smartphones to fighter jets to use as leverage, she said.