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Zimbabwe not suspended from Kimberley Process

November 06, 2009

New York--Following a meeting this week in Namibia, members of the Kimberley Process (KP)--the system designed to stem the flow of conflict diamonds into the trade--opted not to suspend Zimbabwe, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, despite all the problems in the Marange diamond fields.

According to the WSJ, KP members decided instead to send a Kimberley monitor to Zimbabwe to supervise the country's diamond production and impose a 12-month timeline for reforms.

Under the agreement, Zimbabwe is banned from exporting any stones from the Marange fields until the monitor arrives, which could take weeks or months, the WSJ reports.

In the meantime, diamonds from other regions will continue to be exported with KP certificates, according to the WSJ.

Zimbabwe and the alleged activity in its Marange diamond fields have been making headlines all year long.

In June, the organization Human Rights Watch released a report that detailed how Zimbabwe's armed forces were forcing children and adults into labor, and torturing and beating local villagers on the Marange fields.

In July, a KP review mission visited the South African nation and reports circulated that the KP team had recommended a six-month suspension for Zimbabwe.

Following the events of the summer, various industry organizations, including the World Diamond Council and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, called upon the governments that comprise the KP to take decisive action to bring about an end to the problems in Zimbabwe.

According to the WSJ, the KP's decision, which was reached this past Thursday, was unanimous, as is required by KP rules.

However, KP members were divided going into the meeting, with some feeling that Zimbabwe shouldn't be suspended because it tried to comply with the KP, while others said allowing Zimbabwe to remain a member of the KP would damage the process' reputation, the WSJ reports.

The KP's reputation has been called into question several times over the course of the year for the problems with the diamond industry in Zimbabwe and other countries as well.

It was the source of a fiery debate at the conclusion of this year's Rapaport International Diamond Conference held in September, and just last month, Partnership Africa Canada slammed the process as failing and blamed the governments at the center of the KP for not cracking down on diamond smuggling, human rights abuses and money laundering.
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Diamond Supply

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