The Collapse of the Kimberley Process Appears Imminent

A Kimberley Process certificate, which ensures that diamonds are conflict-free. Photo credit: De Beers

The Kimberley Process, which has been in a stalemate during the past two years over whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell diamonds from its controversial Marange diamond field, now appears to be breaking apart, according to published reports.

The civil society coalition, one of the three pillars of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, walked out of a meeting of KP members in the Democratic Republic of Congo Thursday saying negotiations with Zimbabwe were harming the scheme’s credibility, according to a report on the Rapaport website, Diamonds.net.

The coalition, which includes Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada, reportedly said that the KPCS is not meeting its most basic commitments to prevent diamonds from fueling violence and human rights violations, and to provide guarantees to consumers that they are buying clean diamonds.

The latest proposal to allow exports from two Marange concessions operated by Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources while other concessions would be subject to a Kimberley Process monitoring team until the next plenary meeting in November, was rejected by the U.S., Canada and Israel at the meeting in Kinshasa, the DOC’s largest city, Diamonds.net reports.

The Kimberley Process requires full consensus from all members to pass a resolution, Diamonds.net reports. Civil society, and the World Diamond Council, which represents the diamond industry, have observer status in the meeting.

Of course, according to the reports I’ve been reading, the KP meeting is being held behind closed doors, typical of how the organization operates even though it exists to ensure consumers that the diamonds they buy have been mined through legal means and without human rights abuses. The public portion of its website hasn’t been updated since February 18.

On Wednesday, Voice of America reported that Zimbabwean Mines Minister Obert Mpofu divided Kimberley Process members saying that his country will keep selling diamonds from the Marange field with or without the Kimberley Process. In speech that was described as a “diatribe” by some KP members, accussed “racist” Western nations of trying to obstruct Zimbabwe from realizing its diamond revenues.

Mpofu also boycotted an earlier meeting of a working group on Zimbabwe, VOA reports. Also in its report, it notes that Anjin, a Chinese firm, is developing parts of Marange in a joint venture with the Zimbabwean government. Mpofu reportedly said Anjin will soon begin to export rough diamonds from Marange.

Zimbabwe is a founding member of the Kimberley Process, an international organization made up of diamond industry representatives, government officials from 75 countries and non-governmental organizations. It is charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds—commonly called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, depending on whether you have a vested interested in the diamond industry. Illicit diamonds under the organization’s mandate are the result of diamonds being used to fund brutal civil wars where innocent people are being killed and mutilated by those involved in these conflicts.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as “conflict-free.”

The Marange diamond field, which many say contain the largest deposit of diamonds in the world, has been the scene of murders and other human rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s government and its military, as well as illegal smuggling of diamonds. The Zimbabwe government insist those abuses have stopped but human rights advocates say they continue; that money from mines is being used to finance the ruling party’s operations, including upcoming elections; and diamond smuggling continues.

To learn more use the search option on this site and plug in the keyword terms "Kimberley Process,"  "Zimbabwe," or "Marange."

WFDB and Local Zimbabwe Group at Odds Over Diamond Sales

The Marange diamond fields.

Two organizations are sending different messages on whether Zimbabwe should sell diamonds from its controversial Marange diamond fields, where human rights abuses and smuggling have happened in the past and are alleged to be continuing, according to reports from Zimbabwe newspapers. 

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses is urging the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to allow the country to sell diamonds from the mine, which is considered by many to contain the largest deposit of diamonds in the world. 

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Blood Diamonds Campaign, an advocacy group, warned against any rushed decision to allow Zimbabwe to resume diamond trading, saying the local industry is still not compliant with international standards. 

Zimbabwe, for its part, has maintained that it adheres to the guidelines of the Kimberley Process and will sell its diamonds with or without its permission or certification scheme. 

The Kimberley Process, for its part, is divided over the issue and has been at a stalemate that is threatening to bring down the entire organization, which is charged with ending the trade in "blood" or "conflict" diamonds, which have fueled decades of devastating conflicts.

To read stories from the Zimbabwian newspapers, go to the Jewelry News Network Twitter feed, @JewelryNewsNet. To read more about the issue go to the Jewelry News Network search engine on the home page and do a search with the words "Zimbabwe" or "Kimberley Process."

Kimberley Process Moves Closer to Approving Diamond Exports from Marange

It appears that the Kimberley Process is one step closer to allowing Zimbabwe to sell diamonds through its certification scheme from the controversial Marange field in Zimbabwe. Not because diamonds from what is considered to be the largest deposit of diamonds in the world are conflict-free, but because the body made up of diamond industry representatives, government officials from 75 countries and non-governmental organizations have approved an amendment that will make it more difficult to prove human rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s government.

Just to be clear, the KP is the international organization charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds.

What KP members did was approve an amendment to the “violence clause,” of an agreement they have been trying to approve since November, according to Voice of America and other publications. This clause is apparently one of the strongest sticking points to coming to terms with the thorny political issue of deciding what to do about Zimbabwe and its alleged human rights abuses at Marange.

Under the new language, three rather than two member countries would have to endorse a call for monitoring by the industry watchdog group, VOA reports.

This has been reported for the past week, but I held off on posting it because there was no actual, on-the-record confirmation by anyone associated with the KP, although some individual members have made statements. But this has been such widely reported and consistent in its reporting that I believe it to be fact.

As usual, this approval was done in secret. Yet, this is the organization that is charged with ensuring consumers that the diamonds they buy are conflict-free.

Alan Martin, research director with Partnership Africa Canada, a Kimberley Process NGO member, told VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo that if Harare accepts the revised agreement that will be a step toward further export sales of Marange diamonds.

There’s much more written about this on this Web site. Just do a search for “Zimbabwe” or “Kimberley Process.”

Kimberley Process Member Challenges Zimbabwe Official Claims

A Kimberley Process member has challenged claims by Zimbabwean Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire that the watchdog group authorized Zimbabwe to hold sales from the controversial Marange diamond mines in 2011, according to the Voice of America.

In published comments, Chimanikire says that the KP will allow diamonds from the mine, which has been the source of alleged widespread human rights abuses, to be sold in two supervised auctions. Chimanikire says the agreement is to sell diamonds mined from 2006 to 2009, so they did not fall under a current suspension of sales by the KP.

Global Witness official, Elly Harrowell, a KP member, told VOA that she knows of no such decision. Harrowell is the first KP member to go on the record. The only other report disputing Chimanikire’s claim has come from an unidentified official from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In addition, KP members have until Monday to decide whether to revise Kimberley protocols to require three instead of two member nations to accept reports of violence in order to investigate further, VOA reports. The change would make it harder for critics of Marange operations to trigger a new inquiry.

To read more about this ongoing issue please search this site using the keyword “Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe Minister Confirms KP Diamond Sales Approval

Gift Chimanikire, Zimbabwe deputy minister of Mines and Minerals Development, has reaffirmed that the Southern African country has received Kimberley Process approval to hold two diamond sales, according to The Zimbabwe Guardian and other media outlets.

Chimanikire (pictured) responded to media reports from diamond industry media outlets quoting an unnamed Democratic Republic of Congo spokesperson saying that the KP was waiting for a response on an amendment to Zimbabwe's draft administrative decision before approving the two auctions.

Chimanikire told media outlets that the amendment has no bearing on the sales and that he has received a letter from the KP approving the sales—statements that he first made Tuesday. He reportedly added the southern African nation can sell gems from the controversial Marange diamond fields provided they were mined between 2006 and 2009.

The Kimberley Process was formed in 2002 by governments and the diamond industry to halt the sale of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds, gems used to finance conflicts. Zimbabwe faces accusations of smuggling, murder, rape and assault by its army and police at its Marange fields by rights groups, including Global Witness and Human Rights Watch. The government denies those claims.

Farai Magawu, director of the Center for Research and Development, a Zimbabwean diamond lobby group, told Bloomberg News that the income from the sales could be used to “fund repression.”

Search the Jewelry News Network for a collection of stories on this issue.

Report: Kimberley Process Approves Marange Diamond Sales

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP

 
The Kimberley Process, the organization charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds, has reportedly approved supervised sales of diamonds from the highly controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.

Gift Chimanikire, Zimbabwe Mines and Mining development deputy minister, said that the KP recently wrote to the Zimbabwe government, confirming that it could market its precious stones, according to a report Tuesday in ZimOnline, a Zimbabwean independent news agency.

The issue of Zimbabwe selling diamonds from the Marange fields has divided the KP along political lines with Western countries led by the United States, Germany and Australia as well as nongovernmental organizations calling for banning of the gems, citing reports of continuing human rights abuses and rampant smuggling at the controversial diamond field. They are at odds with other African countries and other countries, including Russia, who are opposed to banning the diamonds, ZimOnline reports. The Zimbabwe government claims that the Western countries and NGOs are driven more their dislike of President Robert Mugabe than by concern for human rights.

The KP is made up of governments, diamond industry representatives and NGOs to stem the flow of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds—rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as “conflict-free.” The KP has 49 members, representing 75 countries, with the European Community and its member states counting as an individual participant.

Beginning in 2008, the Zimbabwe army took over the Marange fields, considered by many to be one of the largest diamond deposits in the world, forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. These miners were massacred by soldiers and villagers have been beaten, raped and forced to work in the mines. The human rights abuses led to Zimbabwe to being suspended from the KP.

The KP voted to temporarily reinstate Zimbabwe in July, allowing two supervised exports of rough diamond from Marange held in August and September. However, the KP in November, based on continued reports of human rights abuses and smuggling, failed to reach an agreement on whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell Marange diamonds through the organization’s certification scheme. In response, the Zimbabwean government threatened to dump their diamonds on the open market, which would cause worldwide diamond prices to fall. 

Among the more recent accusations, is a report from Human Rights Watch that accuses Mugabe's long-ruling ZANU-PF party of tapping proceeds from the illicit sale of diamonds from the Marange field to fund its campaign for anticipated 2011 elections, according to Voice of America. The report includes charges of killings by the military of freelance diamond panners in the Marange field, while diamond smuggling through Mozambique was rampant.

In a related development, VOA reports that Israeli authorities have arrested two men on charges they tried to smuggle Marange diamonds into the country.

Law enforcement agencies arrested David Vardi and Gilad Halachmi at the Tel Aviv airport on December 23.The two are accused of trying to smuggle diamonds worth more than $200,000 into the country. Vardi, a diamond trader registered under the Israeli Diamond Exchange, has been expelled from that organization.

In a more recent development, six alleged diamond fraudsters are expected to be indicted at the High Court of Zimbabwe for trial on Tuesday amid fears they may be remanded in custody, according to the Zimbabwean publication, NewsDay.

The six include Core Mining and Mineral Resources director Lovemore Kurotwi, suspended ZMDC chief executive officer Dominic Mubaiwa, suspended legal advisor and company secretary John Tichaona Muhonde, former ZMDC acting chairperson Gloria Mawarire, former ZMDC director Ashton Sibusiso Ndlovu and former ZMDC board member of the technical committee, Mark Tsomondo.

The six accused persons were arrested on allegations of conniving to defraud the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and government of more than $10 million worth of diamonds.

Search the Jewelry News Network for a collection of stories on this issue.

Swiss Development Group Calls for Countrywide Ban in Zimbabwe Diamonds

The Marange diamond field  Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP

A Swiss international development organization has urged its government to ban trade in diamonds from Zimbabwe's controversial Marange field because of continued reports of human rights violations, according to the Ecumenical News International.

Bread For All, the Development Service of the Protestant Churches in Switzerland, said the diamonds should not have a market in Switzerland based on reports of ongoing human rights abuses by its local partner, the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office.

Marlon Zakeyo, who heads the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office in Geneva, told ENI, that the ban in Switzerland is important because the country is a center for jewelry and watches, it is known for protecting human rights and it is a partner of the Kimberly Process, which is charged with preventing trade in “blood” of “conflict” diamonds—terms used to describe diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity.

In addition, the two organizations said the definition of the terms “blood” or “conflict” diamonds should be updated by the KP to include human rights violations by forces of the state. The groups say the present definition refers to rebel forces, a loophole that had allowed the Zimbabwean government to sell Marange diamonds internationally under Kimberley Process supervision.

If Switzerland agrees to ban the diamonds, it will be the first country to do so. However, they will join a growing list of diamond dealers and jewelry industry officials who will not buy diamonds from Zimbabwe, most notably the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network (RapNet), U.K. jewelry company MasterCut, and the Company of Masters Jewellers, the U.K. retail organization that is the exclusive buyer of MasterCut diamonds.

Beginning in 2008, the Zimbabwe army took over the Marange fields forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. These miners were massacred by soldiers and villagers have been beaten, raped and forced to work as virtual slaves. The human rights abuses led to Zimbabwe being suspended from the KP.

The KP voted to temporarily reinstate Zimbabwe in July, allowing two supervised exports of rough diamond from the Marange production held in August and September. However, the KP in November failed to reach an agreement on whether Zimbabwe will be able to sell diamonds through the organization’s certification scheme, a system that tracks diamond sales from the mine to the market, which has led to a ban diamonds from the Marange field.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has threatened to sell diamonds without Kimberley approval, saying Zimbabwe has met all of its requirements.

Zimbabwe Government Charge Diamond Companies with Fraud

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP

The Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe continue to be a source of controversy and alleged corruption. This time the Zimbabwe government has charged a second mining operation with fraud.

Government officials have charged African Consolidated Resources Plc. with unlawfully acquiring diamond claims in Marange by using subsidiary companies that were unregistered at the time, Reuters and other news agencies reports.

Just last week Zimbabwe police arrested six directors linked to a joint venture firm mining diamonds in Marange, also on allegations of fraudulently acquiring the concession. The arrested executives include five officials from the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp. and a Zimbabwean representative of its South African partner, Core Mining and Minerals (link unavailable), in the 50-50 diamond mining joint venture, Canadile Miners.

They were arraigned Tuesday and the court is due to give its ruling on their bail request on Wednesday (today), AFP reports.

And of course, last week, Kimberley Process officials failed to agree on whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell gems from Marange, based on continued allegations of human rights abuses and smuggling.

A story in The Zimbabwean newspaper tries to make sense of all of this.

NGOs Demand that Zimbabwe Meets its KP Commitments before Selling Diamonds

Kimberley Process members must ensure that Zimbabwe is following the organization’s commitments before allowing the country to sell diamonds from its Marange diamond fields, KP nongovernmental organization members said.

Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada, known as the KP Civil Society Coalition, released a statement following four days of closed door meetings, in which KP members couldn’t agree on whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell diamonds from its controversial diamond field, the source of alleged human rights violations.

The KP banned Zimbabwe from selling diamonds from the Marange fields following reports of the killing of more than two hundred miners by the Zimbabwean security forces in late 2008 along with patterns of violence and smuggling. The KP authorized two sales (in August and September) from the controversial source under close supervision despite reports of continued violence at the mine.

The NGOs say they recognize that some progress in terms of technical controls has been made since the initial ban. “However, key commitments made in the Joint Work Plan and a follow up agreement reached in St Petersburg in July—which links exports to progress on the ground and emphasizes the role of Zimbabwean civil society—remain unmet. It is only through implementing these agreements that Zimbabwe will meet Kimberley Process minimum standards and prevent renewed violence in Marange,” the statement read.

“The KP Civil Society Coalition remains committed to playing a constructive role in finding an agreement between the Kimberley Process and Zimbabwe; one which allows all Zimbabwean people to benefit from the country's diamond wealth, while ensuring that human rights are respected and the integrity of the KP scheme is preserved,” the statement continued. “We believe that such an agreement must link exports from Marange with progress in implementing existing commitments and reflect the fundamental KP principle of country—rather than individual mine—certification. The most important of these commitments include:

“• Endorsement and respect for the local civil society monitoring mechanism established by the St Petersburg agreement by which Zimbabwean NGOs report to the KP on conditions in Marange.

“• Measures agreed by Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process to remove the military from Marange and put in place a system of law enforcement overseen by civilian authorities.

“• Steps to tackle illegal mining and cross border trafficking of diamonds, including the establishment of regulations that allow for small scale mining of diamonds.”

There are rumors that impasse over the Zimbabwe issue may bring down the entire Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which “imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’ and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate trade,” according to the KP Web site.

KP certificate

“Under the terms of the KPCS, participating states must meet ‘minimum requirements’ and must put in place national legislation and institutions; export, import and internal controls; and also commit to transparency and the exchange of statistical data. Participants can only legally trade with other participants who have also met the minimum requirements of the scheme, and international shipments of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a KP certificate guaranteeing that they are conflict-free.”

KP member states

The KP has 49 members representing 75 countries with the European Union and member states counting as individual participants, according to the KP Web site. It includes 99.8 percent of the diamond industry, government officials and the World Diamond Council, which represents the international diamond trade. The NGOs participate in what appears to be a less significant role.

The KPCS was first conceived in 2000 and finalized in 2002 in response to the civil war in Sierra Leone. Specifically, the use of diamonds by the Revolutionary United Front to purchase weapons that were used to commit atrocities against civilians that left many thousands dead or mutilated, with unknown numbers of people abducted and tortured.