The Hsitory of the Kimberley Process
The Kimberley Process is an initiative by governments, industry leaders and civil societies to curtail the flow of conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds are rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against governments. These illicit stones have fueled devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes strict requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds are “conflict free.”
The United Nations in 1997 placed Angola under sanctions which forbid countries from buying diamonds from them. This was the first resolution that specifically mentioned diamonds along with funding a war. In the 1990’s it was estimated that 20% of the total production of diamonds were being sold for illegal purposes. The illegal diamond trade was reduced to 3 by 1999.06% by the World Diamond Council.
Southern African diamond producing companies met in May of 2000 to plan a method that would halt the trading of conflict diamonds. The diamond industry's main figures convened and created the World Diamond Council in 2001. They set out to draft a new process where rough diamonds could be certified as coming from a non conflict source.
How the Kimberley Process is monitored, however, is its biggest weakness. Any country can become a member of the Kimberley Process just by sending a letter to the European Commission president. Even if the country doesn’t meet the standards of the Kimberley Process it can still become a member. Some conflicts diamonds are still getting pass the Kimberley Certification Scheme. However, there has been a vast improvement in the war to fight conflict diamonds.
The Kimberley Process keeps countries honest by forcing them to keep records of all the diamonds they import and export and how much they are worth. This means that a government can be accountable for spending for the benefit of the country’s population because it is known how much the government has made.
In the accordance with the UN resolution, the US prohibited rough diamonds to be imported from Sierra Leone. It also banned importation from Liberia because they were recognized as acting like a pipeline for conflict diamonds. The KPCS became law in the United States in 2003 and was one of the major reasons this scheme could succeed. That is because the US is the largest consumer of diamonds.
A conflict free diamond is one whose profit has not been used to fund wars. It has also been mined and produced under ethical conditions. Only diamonds that are certified and can be traced from the mine to the consumer are considered conflict free diamonds. Blood diamonds are still a concern, but with the Kimberley Process in place it makes the world more aware of the problem. When looking for a diamond of any sort, make sure the jeweler uses KPCS diamonds.
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