Conflict diamonds on agenda when WDC meets in Israel

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Conflict diamonds on agenda when WDC meets in Israel

March 14, 2007

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New York—The World Diamond Council (WDC) has announced that its fifth annual meeting will be held from May 9-10 at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem, and that the conflict-diamond issue will be at the top of the agenda.

Hosted by the Israeli Diamond Industry—an umbrella group that includes the Israel Diamond Institute, the Israel Diamond Exchange and others—the annual meeting will allow government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and industry leaders to come together in an open forum to discuss the issues surrounding the eradication of the flow of conflict diamonds.

Gareth Penny, the managing director of the De Beers Group, is slated to give the keynote address.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to go back to Tel Aviv to be among so many friends and colleagues. I salute all the participants of the Kimberley Process, including the World Diamond Council, industry and NGOs, in reducing conflict diamonds to less than 1 percent of world rough-diamond production," Penny said in a press release issued on Tuesday. "The Kimberley Process is the diamond industry's primary safeguard and gives consumers assurance that their diamonds are conflict-free. The WDC meeting presents an opportunity to further build on the successes to date and the strong commitment of the 71 countries in the Kimberley Process to work with industry and participating NGOs to eliminate the very last traces of conflict diamonds."

Eli Izhakoff, chairman of the WDC, noted that since its inception in 2000, the WDC has been working at eradicating the flow of conflict diamonds through the implementation of the Kimberley Process and System of Warranties.

"The WDC continues to be at the forefront of this vital issue by continuing to work with our government and non-governmental partners to stop this evil trade," Izhakoff said in a statement. "It is our hope that by gathering all interested parties at this forum that we will be able to take great strides to make conflict diamonds a thing of the past."

To register for the meeting, visit the meeting's Web site, WDCmeeting.com. To learn more about the WDC, visit the WDC's Web site, Worlddiamondcouncil.org or Diamondfacts.org.

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