(IDEX Online) - Observers for the Kimberley Process (KP) have drawn up four key demands to end the ongoing flow of conflict diamonds.
They say the certification scheme, which was established in 2003, has been deadlocked for over a decade as member countries fail to agree on adapting to current challenges.
The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, which acts as an observer for KP, says diamond mining continues to cause violence and conflict in several producer countries, where conflict diamonds still circulate.
"This problem has remained unaddressed for far too long and something finally needs to be done about it," it says, in what it describes as a calls for urgent industry action.
It calls on the industry to to endorse these commitments:
1. Abandon conflict-free marketing claims. Contrary to what is often claimed, the KPCS provides no guarantees that certified diamonds are free of conflict, due to the extremely narrow KP definition of conflict diamonds.
2. Stop talking about diamond-affected communities without actually talking with them. Communities impacted by diamond mining, manufacturing and trading rarely have the opportunity to speak for themselves.
3. Implement due diligence on diamond supply chains. Given the challenges of ensuring traceability when diamonds often change hands multiple times from mine to market, it is all the more important to improve, and independently audit, social, environmental and human rights standards at the mining level.
4. Stop representing standards created by industry associations, such as the World Diamond Council's revised System of Warranties (SoW) Guidelines, as proof of ethical diamond origin or actual human rights due diligence.
Source: IDEX 31-10-2021
