HARARE An international human rights group has castigated the worlds blood diamond monitoring group for failing to suspend Zimbabwe despite overwhelming evidence of serious abuses and smuggling at the Marange diamond fields. (Pictured: A diamond from the Marange Fields were human rights abuses abound)New York-based Human Rights Watch said the Kimberley Process (KP), had dented its credibility by ignoring the findings of its own investigators and letting Zimbabwe escape without censure for alleged rights abuses occurring at the controversial diamond fields along the border with Mozambique.
During the organisations annual plenary held in Namibia last Thursday, KP members agreed to give Zimbabwe more time to improve its mining standards.
This was despite recommendations by a KP review mission to suspend the country for six months until operations at the Marange fields, also known as Chiadzwa, are improved to meet international standards.
Blood shed ignored
“The group that monitors blood diamonds essentially ignored the blood being shed in Zimbabwe’s diamond fields,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “That decision puts diamond consumers at risk of buying blood diamonds.”
The rights groups said rampant abuses by the military in Marange including forced labour, child labour, killings, beatings, smuggling, and corruption were still going on as late as last month.
Human Rights Watch called on the diamond industry and diamond consumers to boycott Marange diamonds until Zimbabwe ends all abuses and removes the military from the area.
With the failure of the Kimberley Process to stand resolutely for clean diamonds, it is now up to consumers to insist on conflict-free gems, Gagnon said.
The KP meeting asked Zimbabwe to adhere to a work plan that the Harare government had proposed.
The plan commits the country to a phased withdrawal of the military without specific time lines, directs police to provide security for the area, and provides for a monitor, agreed to by both Zimbabwe and the Kimberley process, to examine and certify all shipments of diamonds from Marange.
“These benchmarks are weak, at best, and they won’t prevent serious abuses from occurring around Marange, nor halt the smuggling of diamonds,” Gagnon said. “Without stronger action, the group cannot certify that the diamonds coming from Zimbabwe are clean.”
Israel and Canada pushed unsuccessfully for the suspension of Zimbabwe, but South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Russia supported Zimbabwe and called for technical assistance without suspension.
The Russian delegation stated that “at present there are no conflict diamonds in Zimbabwe.” –
Post published in: Economy