23rd Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Rare Earth Minerals
Congressman Christopher H. Smith commended Robert Pittenger for his unwavering dedication to human rights and global security, while simultaneously criticizing the Chinese Communist Party for its human rights violations. These violations include the suppression that followed the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Smith contended that Western policies that separated trade from human rights in the 1990s facilitated China’s rise without any reforms. Additionally, Smith cautioned about China’s increasing control over strategic minerals, particularly cobalt sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this region, child labor and exploitation are prevalent. Smith announced plans for legislation aimed at combating forced labor within mineral supply chains and reducing reliance on China.
Melo, an international lawyer, emphasized that critical minerals essential for contemporary technology and national security are increasingly associated with corruption, human rights abuses, and child labor. He cautioned that foreign powers, particularly China, exploit mineral-rich but weakly governed countries through loans, investments, and corruption, effectively gaining control over strategic resources. Melo urged democratic nations to enforce international law, prohibit imports of minerals extracted through child labor, and hold companies and governments accountable.
Carl Delfeld elucidated that rare earth elements are indispensable components of modern technologies such as smartphones, semiconductors, electric vehicles, satellites, and military systems like the F‑35 Lightning II. He observed that while the United States once held a dominant position in rare earth production, China now produces approximately 80% of the global supply due to decades of strategic industrial policy. Delfeld cautioned that this dependence poses risks to technology industries and national security and underscored the necessity of reconstructing alternative supply chains.
