Blood diamonds in international markets

Kimberley Process at stake

Blood diamonds continue to be mined and sold from Marange (Zimbabwe) - which contains the largest known concentration of diamonds in the world - and find their way into jewellery stores worldwide. Everything indicates that the beneficiaries of this diamond wealth are largely members of the military and officials in president Robert Mugabe's inner circle. Even so, Kimberley Process members insist on not suspending Zimbabwe or banning the sale of its stones


By LUAN GALANI (luan.galani@wavemagazine.net)
from Curitiba, BRAZIL


By buying pieces of diamond jewellery, people often intend to convey love to someone special. But, if it contains diamonds from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, it could have a bloody past of abuse.

In 2002, an international body backed by the United Nations was founded to ensure that traders and consumers could identify blood diamonds and prevent their trade. The group - the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) - now represents seventy-five countries, including Zimbabwe, and claims to cover 99% of the global rough-diamond industry. But its credibility and trust are now at stake.

Recently, both Human Rights Watch and KP review missions found that diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe are mined under conditions of serious human rights abuses, in breach of the standards set by the organization, which requires members to ensure that diamonds are rightfully mined, documented and exported.

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson has visited Marange. Simpson spoke to Justice Smith, a former judge who was once President Mugabe's top civil servant and played a key role in the Lancaster House negotiations in 1980 which brought about Zimbabwe's independence. When asked if he was talking about people at the top, Smith replied: "Very much so." Even for a man as Smith, in the current atmosphere in Zimbabwe, it is dangerous to name names.

Hidden in the shadow of a guerilla hero

The Kimberley Process works by consensus. Because its members include Namibia, Russia and South Africa, which support Mugabe, the group decided in November 2009 not to suspend Zimbabwe or ban the sale of its stones. The reason: the KP defines blood diamonds as those mined by abusive rebel groups, not by any government.

At the same time, nevertheless, it is understandable why some members did so. Robert Mugabe once was a guerrilla. After transforming minority white-run Rhodesia into majority black-run Zimbabwe, he turned his country into one of the fastest-growing and most diversified economies south of the Sahara - for the first decade and a half of his rule. It invested in education, particularly focusing on girls and women, reaching literacy rates which were unrivaled in the entire region.

His status as a true war hero and the aid he lent other African liberation movements in the 1980s are the motives for so many African leaders being reluctant to criticize him today.

Moreover, resigning from his position at the World Diamond Council, a diamond industry trade group, the highly influential industry veteran Martin Rapaport - principal architect of the KP - protested over how this industry has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's diamond fields.

But KP is interested in changing this poignant picture. Now that the Chair is with the State of Israel, KP has nominated Abbey Chikane as the KP Monitor for Zimbabwe. He is assessing the situation to address the indications of serious non-compliance with KP minimum requirements identified in July 2009.

Changes are not in sight

The question remains if members and participants are going to have courage enough to ban Zimbabwe's stones. A consensus in that is difficult to reach and the KP document says as follows: "Participants are to reach decisions by consensus. In the event that consensus proves to be impossible, the Chair is to conduct consultations". And to get modifications, consensus is also key.

So, by that, it is not feasible to make some specific country accountable for not expelling Zimbabwe's from the KP. The entire process and its members are accountable for being soft law.

There can not be any legal consequences for the violation of the recommendations within the scheme. Failure to comply with these procedures may only lead to the removal of the non-complying member country. If any concerns arise regarding a country's adherence to the scheme, they must be investigated and dealt with by the World Trade Organization.

Supervision of the process is done by the Chair, elected on an annual basis at a plenary meeting. A Working Group on Monitoring (what includes NGOs and the diamond industry) monitors each participant to ensure that it is implementing the scheme correctly. Other working groups report on difficulties in implementation and propose solutions. Also, the State Department coordinates U.S. Government interagency implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act of 2003, which helps enormously the Kimberley Process implementation.

KP has improved the situation in several countries where blood diamonds were once rife. However, besides this plus point, a reform is imperatively demanded.



(Published: 12.06.2010.)