In the ongoing battle to prevent diamonds being used to fuel and fund conflicts around the world, diamond-producing nations are meeting for a three day conference in Namibia this week to review global efforts to curb the flow of so-called ‘blood diamonds’.

A scheme called the Kimberley Process, named after a South African mining town, was launched in 2003 to encourage member-countries to certify their rough diamonds are ‘conflict free’ when they enter the main market.

‘Conflict free’
Essentially the Kimberley Process (KP) seeks to ensure that, for example, a couple seeking out the perfect wedding ring can be sure that it has not come from a country where the blood of conflict has been left clinging to the diamond sparkling on the bride-to-be’s finger.

“Our aim is to curb the flow of illicit trade and we must continue to strengthen the security system and improve our internal controls” said the group’s chairman Bernhard Esau at the opening ceremony in Namibia’s capital Windhoek on Tuesday.

A joint government, industry and civil society initiative, the KP now has 49 members representing 75 countries. Their aim is to stop rough diamonds being used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. Sierra Leone, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) are just some of the countries where illicit trade in the gems has fuelled decades of devastating conflicts.

Now questions are being raised about the efficacy of the Kimberley Process.

Effective process
Rights group Global Witness, one of the key drivers in establishing the KP, is attending the conference in Namibia and asking difficult questions about the continued smuggling of rough diamonds from Cote d’Ivoire and also an alleged massacre of 150 illegal miners in Zimbabwe late last year.

Britain-based Global Witness tries to monitor the exploitation of human resources and human rights in the diamond mining and selling process, and according to spokeswoman Annie Dunnebacke “The clock is running out on the Kimberley Process' credibility. The work it was set up to do is vital – it would be scandalous if uncooperative governments and industry succeeded in hobbling it into ineffectiveness”.

Three main issues
“The KP is failing on three main issues, firstly it is not effectively addressing instances of non compliance in its participant members; there is also a significant illicit trade in rough diamonds that are circumventing KP process controls, and there also instances of government sponsored human rights abuses in KP members which we feel the KP should not endorse”

Dunnebacke says that Global Witness is particularly concerned about the situation in Cote d’Ivoire where mining is increasing in the north of the country and diamonds are being smuggled out and reaching international consumers.

“We are also very concerned about the mining fields of Marange in eastern Zimbabwe. There is heavy militarisation of diamond mining, so there is not just miltary control but actual involvement and profiting from the mining. There was also the [alleged] massacre of several hundreds of illegal miners there last year.”

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses banned the sale of diamonds from Marange in April last year but KP has not taken a similar stand.

Tightening controls
Dunnebacke continues: “In the case of Cote d’ Ivoire we are asking the KP to tighten its control in neighbouring countries and try to address the trade flows that are facilitating the purchase of these diamonds”

She says that Zimbabwe remains a full participant in the KP and that a review mission team will be in Zimbabwe next week. “We are calling on the Zimbabwean government to allow that team full, unfettered and transparent access to all stakeholders that the team wants to interview. But we are also calling on the KP to clarify its approach to human rights.”

While civil society may be keen to see a higher level of engagement from its members in the KP, the question remains how can a couple on the look out for that perfect diamond ring be sure it is ‘conflict free’?

“The wars that were funded by the sale of diamonds in various parts of Africa have now mostly ended. Following that, the KP did provide a much greater degree of regulation for the diamond industry. It has changed things but unfortunately loopholes remain. Weakness in internal controls and certain participant countries also remain. That means that consumers are still unable to be sure they are buying a clean diamond when they go to the high street”.
 

Listen to Newsline's interview with Global Witness' Annie Dunnebacke