'Blood diamonds': Flawed regulator must end half-measures

The Kimberley Process will only survive if governments and industry stand up for the principles on which it was built. The Kimberley Process certification scheme is often credited with ending the trade in conflict diamonds. As the blood spilled in Zimbabwe's diamond fields shows, the truth is more complex.

The KP set out to ensure that the kind of diamond-fuelled conflict and abuse exposed by Global Witness and others in countries such as Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia could never happen again. The technical aspects of the scheme are implemented by governments, while NGOs and the diamond industry act as observers. Essentially an import-export control system for rough diamonds, the KP provides a strong economic incentive for countries to join, since members can only trade with each other. To participate, governments must pass national laws and agree to meet the KP's minimum standards to guarantee that their diamond exports are conflict-free.

There have been successes: in some African countries the scheme has brought more transparency and increased official diamond revenues for governments. But recent crises have exposed shortfalls. In Zimbabwe the abuses are by a member government, as opposed to a rebel group. This highlights a fundamental flaw in the process: the KP's reliance on consensus among members has allowed regional allies to veto tough decisions on Zimbabwe, which remains a member despite the state-sponsored murder of hundreds of diamond diggers. The most recent agreement allows Zimbabwe a one-off limited export of diamonds from Marange. All further exports are conditional on Zimbabwe demilitarising diamond mining, cracking down on smuggling and ending human rights abuses in Marange.

The KP's half-measures and compromises in the face of one of the most egregious cases of diamond-related violence in years have battered its credibility and brought it to the brink of collapse. This scheme will only survive if governments and the industry stand up for the principles on which the process was built. Without this, diamonds in countries like Zimbabwe will continue to generate suffering rather than prosperity, and the global diamond industry will remain blighted by the taint of blood diamonds.

Source: The Guardian