The call by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses follows a similar
one by the European Union (EU), which in January urged the Kimberley
Process — an international certification scheme to ensure that
diamonds do not fund conflict — to probe Zimbabwe’s diamond trade.
The EU expressed concern that the trade in illicit diamonds provided
financial support to the Mugabe government, a charge Harare has denied.
"The WFDB and its membership worldwide are committed to do all it can
to prevent conflict diamonds from Zimbabwe or from any other source for
that matter to be traded by our members," WFDB president Avi Paz said
in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from the Zimbabwe government.
The World Diamond Council has put Zimbabwe’s production of rough
diamonds at 0.4 percent of world output, mostly exported with Kimberley
Process certificates.
Reuters
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