KP disregards ‘ban’ on Zim diamonds

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) has disregarded a ban by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) on trade in diamonds from eastern Zimbabwe, saying it does not recognise the organisation which ‘has no authority to impose such a ban’.

Chairperson of the KPCS and Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Bernhardt Esau, this week told The Namibian that as far as he knows, the WFDB is not a member of the Kimberley Process, and that the organisation’s decision to impose a ban is not in line with the KP’s decisions on the Zimbabwe situation.
The Kimberley Process is a joint government, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of and prevent trade in conflict diamonds, and is this year being chaired by Namibia.
But the WFDB says that its ban on trade from eastern Zimbabwe, and particularly from the Marange deposits, is in accordance with the Kimberley Process, noting that the ban follows reports of violations of the KPCS.
The WFDB’s president, Avi Paz, called on the members of its 28 affiliated bourses ‘to take all measures necessary to ensure that they do not trade, directly or indirectly, in diamonds originating from the Marange deposit in Zimbabwe,’ where forced evictions of small-scale miners are reported to have taken place recently
‘The WFDB and its membership worldwide are committed to do all it can to prevent conflict diamonds from Zimbabwe or from any other source for that matter to be traded by our members,’ Paz is quoted as saying, reiterating that it only allows its member bourses to trade in diamonds that are accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate.
‘As founding members of the World Diamond Council and as signatories to the KPCS, it is our duty to remind not only our members but all those who operate in the diamond industry and trade of the devastating impact of conflicts fuelled by the trade in conflict diamonds on the peace, safety and security of people in affected countries, and the systematic and gross human rights violations that have been perpetrated in such conflicts,’ Paz added.
But while Esau does not recognise the WFDB or its decision to ban trade in diamonds from Marange, the KPCS chairperson says that during a high level envoy visit to Zimbabwe last month, the scheme received assurance from Zimbabwe that it would be open to a review mission.
During the three-day visit, the KP spent a day and a half in the Marange area, and sent a political message to Zimbabwe to better regulate diamond trade in the country.
A public statement issued by Esau after the visit notes that ‘the KP expresses growing concerns at the reports of violence and indications of smuggling in the Marange Mining area’ and states that it has ‘stepped up international efforts to prevent the laundering of those diamonds.’
The measures to ‘contain illicit trade in Marange diamonds and prevent them from fuelling the violence further’, however, fall short of a ban and instead include: investigating and gathering statistical data and identifying trade anomalies that might point to illicit trade and smuggling patterns; implementing enhanced vigilance measures; enhancing regional co-operation; and carrying out a review mission.
‘If a ban is imposed, at the end of the day it is the people who suffer. We want to give them a chance to improve on the situation,’ Esau told The Namibian, adding that the review mission would most likely take place at the beginning of June, before the KP’s Intersessional meeting scheduled for the 25-26 June in Windhoek.
Other NGOs, most notably Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), argue, however, that the KP’s ‘sluggish’ action on banning Zimbabwe from the certification scheme altogether, works against the people.
In a report issued early last month, the PAC said that ‘the KP has consistently failed to say or do anything that has made the slightest difference with respect to Zimbabwe’.
‘When regulators fail to regulate, systems collapse and the people they are designed to protect suffer,’ it said.
nangula@namibian.com.na