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If stronger scope is not agreed at KP meeting, reform has ‘failed’, says council

19th November 2019

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

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World Diamond Council (WDC) president Stephane Fischler says that although the Kimberley Process (KP) requires a political process, it is in the collective interest of all participants that rough diamonds meet the expectations of the market.

He opened the KP plenary meeting, in India, on Tuesday, which was expected to discuss the end of the KP’s three-year reform and review cycle and the future of the much-anticipated reform agenda.

The KP is a multilateral trade regime established in 2003 with the goal of preventing the flow of conflict diamonds. The KP’s role is not to be a sanctions-imposing body, but rather the operator of a system that prevents violence, supports conflict resolution and facilitates capacity-building in the mining areas, while maintaining and growing consumer confidence in diamonds.

“I strongly believe the future relevance of this remarkable enterprise, the KP, will be determined by the decisions taken by member countries, and possibly those that will not be taken during this week in New Delhi.

“Lives and livelihoods of individuals who rely on the work that we do together will be impacted by both your actions and inaction,” Fischler stated.

The WDC has been candid in what it would like to see happen – that the conflict diamonds definition incorporate all of the most severe instances of violence, whether they be carried out by rebel forces, private or State-run security forces, or criminal elements – however, it understands that the KP, although tripartite, particularly through its consensus decision-making system, requires a political process.

Industry took its own steps in 2018 when the WDC board of directors approved a new System of Warranties, a compliance system that goes beyond the scope of the KP Certification Scheme. It includes the implementation of universally accepted principles on human and labour rights, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption.

“It is in the collective interest of all participants in the KP that all certified rough diamonds meet the standards and expectations of the market. Within our area of influence, we have a duty to care and to consider long-term solutions that will protect our most vulnerable stakeholders. This is what we need to do together in New Delhi,” Fischler said.

He further lamented that a failure to act did not simply mean kicking the can down the road.

“It is a deliberate decision not to address those instances of gross abuse and violence causing pain and suffering in certain diamond-mining areas today, surrendering a chance for having meaningful impact on the long-term development in the countries in which this is taking place.

“If this happens, the KP, which played an unprecedented part in the ending of civil wars across the African continent, will show itself to be impotent in addressing the causes of localised conflict. Like the rebel uprisings against governments of the 1990s and early 2000s, which the proceeds of the trade in diamonds fueled in a string of countries, these localised disturbances also destroy lives, hope and dignity of entire communities,” Fischler explained.

He added that conflict diamond trade tarnished the reputation of the minerals with which they were associated, eroding their ability to generate revenues in the consumer markets and, as a consequence, economic growth and development in the countries where they were mined.

“But this does not need to be the case. We have in this room the countries, the organisations and the individuals who can ensure that the odyssey of the KP continues – that it remains a beacon of light for millions of people involved and impacted by the extractive sector, often living in the most desperate of circumstances. These people are part of our supply chain.

“If we have learned anything over the past two decades it is about the seemingly implausible ability of an unlikely tripartite coalition, involving government, industry and civil society, to coalesce over the regulation of a non-essential, luxury product, and in so doing, transform the lives of people suffering from conflict. We know it can be done. We know that we can do it together.”

The council previously indicated that there was a need for a more stringent peer review mechanism, a permanent secretariat to replace the limited current administrative support mechanism, a multi-donor fund and a more concrete definition of what conflict diamonds are.

Fischler said that if there was no progress on the strengthening of the scope of the KP Certification Scheme – whether it involved actual agreement about how conflict diamonds are defined, and/or agreement about how and over what period of time that definition evolves – then the outside world would characterise the KP plenary meeting, and the KP’s effort to reform its operation, as a failure.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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