WDC focuses on strengthening scope of Kimberley Process during AGM

Members of the World Diamond Council (WDC) assembled in Antwerp, Belgium, on October 2 and 3, for the organisation’s annual general meeting (AGM), where proceedings were dominated by discussions about the pending conclusion of the Kimberley Process’ review and reform process, and the related call by the WDC and others that the scope of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) be broadened.

Speaking to the gathering, WDC president Stephane Fischler expressed the organisation’s determination that, when the KP Plenary meets in New Delhi, India, in November, progress be made in strengthening the definition of “conflict diamonds,” so that it better addresses the types of systemic violence being seen in certain diamond-mining areas today.

Additionally, he stated that the KP would also need to discuss how the new definition would be implemented and verified.

Several amendments to the conflict diamonds definition are currently being considered by the KP, including a proposal tabled by Canada, which had been formulated together with the WDC and the Civil Society Coalition, and others by Botswana and Russia.

“We are still far from a final agreement, but I believe there is now a general awareness that a new and strengthened scope will indeed be of benefit to the KP and all its stakeholders,” Fischler said in his report to the AGM.

“These are extremely complex negotiations, where the North–South divide is apparent, and where different historical contexts must be acknowledged, for they shape perceptions and understandings.”

He stressed that, with the strengthened scope, it is critical that the role of the KPCS remains relevant. The KPCS should not be regarded as a sanctions mechanism, he said, but rather as a system that prevents instances of violence and conflict, and in so doing facilitates capacity building in the mining areas, as well as protecting consumer confidence in the diamond.

A key element in the WDC’s programme to support the integrity of the diamond value chain is its updated System of Warranties (SOW), whose scope extends beyond that of the KPCS, covering both the rough and polished diamond trade, and directly referencing international conventions on human and labour rights, anticorruption and anti-money laundering (AML).

Delegates to the AGM discussed a toolkit that was being developed to assist industry members in their implementation.

The delegates also discussed the ongoing situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), where the trade of conflict diamonds remains a concern.

In 2015, after an absence, the CAR was readmitted into the KPCS within a special operational framework that was created to ensure the strict traceability of goods, which can only be sourced from especially approved “green” mining zones.

During the AGM, notification was received from the CAR government that it was planning an overhaul of its alluvial diamond mining sector, which will include the introduction of a regime based on Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development due diligence principles.

Responding to the announcement, Fischler said the WDC would encourage such a programme, but he stressed that all members and companies from the industry had to remain on the alert and conduct their own due diligence to ensure that any CAR-sourced rough diamonds they buy are KP-compliant.

He also called on the countries neighbouring the CAR and those that are home to trading centres to practice enhanced vigilance to prevent conflict diamonds from accessing their territories.