For a country with high value trade in diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certificate Scheme has much relevance.
When you think of diamonds, you think of elegance and beauty. They are symbols of love and commitment and icons of purity. So it comes as a rude shock to learn that the gemstones' association with war, exploitation, misery and death have earned them the moniker of ‘blood diamonds', and invited censure from the United Nations, Amnesty International and several other NGOs and governments worldwide.
The reason for their notoriety lies in their connection to violent struggles for political and economic dominance in some parts of Africa. Benoit Scheyvaerts, Laboratory Director, International Gemmological Institute, Dubai, says: "Conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds, come from regions or countries, where a rebellion or a civil war is going on. In the '90s, the illegal mining and trade of diamonds helped rebels and military groups in Africa (Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo) to get funds to finance their war."
It's not just the illegal mining of diamonds but also the atrocities committed by rebel forces in these countries that have mortified the international community.
In an effort to address the human rights violations in these diamond-producing nations, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association passed a resolution in 2000, creating the World Diamond Council (WDC). The main function of the council constitutes the development, implementation and supervision of a tracking system to check the trade of rough diamonds from these regions, which the WDC states was as high as four per cent of the world's rough diamond output in 1999.
To support and strengthen the drive to weed out the use of conflict diamonds, the international jewellery and diamond industry, represented by the WDC, initiated and committed to a voluntary system of warranties, which requires that on every occasion that rough, polished or diamond jewellery is traded, the seller affirms on the invoice that the diamonds have been bought through authorised channels not involved in financing conflict.
In 2000 the UN, supported by the international diamond industry, NGOs and several countries, also adopted Resolution 1459, better known as the Kimberly Process. The resolution supported the creation of an international certification scheme that verified the diamonds were mined legitimately, thereby curbing the sale of conflict diamonds.
Legitimate trade
"To stop the trade in these illicit diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certificate Scheme (KPCS) was adopted in 2002 and launched in 2003. Now fully implemented in nearly 70 countries, the process bans all diamonds from entering the legitimate trade if not accompanied by a certificate of origin," says Scheyvaerts. "Today, thanks to an international effort, the vast majority of diamonds are guaranteed conflict-free."
The first country in the Arab world to be a signatory to the KPCS, the UAE has also been in the forefront of ensuring this initiative is successful by being the first among 47 member countries to volunteer a ‘peer review' visit on internal control mechanisms.
The KPCS certification is especially relevant in the UAE because it has high value trade in diamonds. "The UAE is among the six leading trading centres in the world for rough diamonds with the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) managing the rough diamond trade in the country," says Noora Jamsheer, CEO, DDE.
According to DDE, the value of UAE's rough diamond exports during the first quarter of 2006 touched $570,547,895. In terms of carat value, the UAE exports of rough diamonds reached 9,733,291 carats in the first quarter of 2006, in comparison with 8,160,487 carats during the same period in 2005. The increase was matched in the imported carats as the total imports during the first quarter of 2006 reached 10,274,213 carats up from 7,964,524 carats during the same period in 2005.
According to a WAM report in May, as the official government body that's in charge of implementing the KPSC in the UAE, the DDE passed 1,362 import certificates for diamonds in comparison to 867 certificates in 2004. The KP office also issued 1,911 certificates for diamonds in 2005 at the source, to certify that they had been mined legitimately.
Increasing awareness has also helped the cause of rooting out conflict diamonds. The DDE and other organisations from the sector are playing an active role in this effort. Internationally, organisations such as the UN, WDC and Amnesty International are also actively informing consumers and the sector on how their efforts can make a difference.
Conflict diamonds have also inspired books, songs and even a major motion picture Blood Diamond scheduled for release next year.
"The jewellery industry is concerned that the upcoming film may cast a dark shadow on the diamond trade, as viewers may believe that conflict diamonds are rife today. It is also important to consider the film in a historical perspective. The KPCS has greatly reduced the potentiality that conflict diamonds enter the legitimate market and has been beneficial to the African governments," says Scheyvaerts.
Effective measures
The World Diamond Council also reiterated its commitment to ending trade in conflict diamonds at its annual meeting in Sicily in February. According to a press review of the meeting, a special committee was created with the aim of introducing programmes to increase awareness in the diamond and jewellery industries about the chain of warranties that ensure diamonds are conflict-free. One of these programmes will involve the establishment of WDC booths at jewellery trade fairs.
According to WDC, initiatives such as the KPSC, voluntary system of warranties and the efforts of international organisations have proved effective in bringing down the number of conflict diamonds in the market to less than one per cent compared to four per cent in 1999. This turn of events will help bring back the sparkle to diamonds.
