(IDEX Online) - Following the agreement to restructure the Operational Framework System created for the Central African Republic (CAR) at the recent Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Meeting, the WDC has released updated information about exports from the African country.
Under the terms of the revised framework, the CAR government can issue KP certificates to rough diamond shipments for goods sourced in the eight approved green zones. Until now, KP certificates could only be issued after getting approval from the CAR Monitoring Team (CAR MT) prior to each export.
The CAR MT will continue to monitor all legal exports from the country with the government remaining obligated to provide information about rough diamond exports each month.
The CAR MT will cross-check copies of all KP export certificates received from the government against the confirmations of imports of the corresponding shipments, which the authorities in the importing countries/trading centers will supply.
Although government-sanctioned authorities are now responsible for supplying confirmation of imports of rough diamonds from the CAR, members of the trade are urged to practice enhanced vigilance when handling rough diamonds believed to have originated from the country.
The WDC says this should be done by ensuring that import shipments from CAR only include goods sourced from the approved green zones and are accompanied by a CAR government KP certificate.
Importers seeking to ensure transparency are encouraged by the KP to provide the CAR MT with confirmation of shipments of diamonds imported from the country.
The changes are a provisional modification and are valid for one year. The effectiveness of the changes will be assessed by the KP during 2020.