HARARE Diamonds are fundamental to the economic development of Zimbabwe, an official from the Kimberley Process Secretariat, Netta Bar-El, said this week in an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean. (Pictured: Zimbabwe was awarded certificati
“Rough Diamonds are an important economic resource and are crucial to the economic development of Zimbabwe. These diamonds are also important to the global diamond industry as Zimbabwe has the potential to become a major diamond producer in the new years,” Bar-El said. The KP secretariat official said a Review Mission had been in Zimbabwe since
Sunday to check the country’s fulfilment with the KP minimum requirements.
“The review mission will check Zimbabwe’s compliance with the KP minimum requirements. The conclusion of the Review Mission will be submitted to the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM) for discussions during the Plenary Meeting to be held in November 2010 in Jerusalem,” Bar-El said. The country was awarded certification to sell its diamonds when the members of the Kimberley Process met in St. Petersburg, Russia last month after long deliberations on the country’s diamonds.
Before the country was awarded certification, observers said the issue of Zimbabwean diamonds revealed the KP’s ‘double standards’. Mines and Mining Development Minister, Obert Mpofu, was quoted alleging that two international rights organisations, Human Rights Watch and Partnership Africa Canada, tried to blackmail him when he was persuading the international regulator to certify the country’s stockpile of diamonds for export at the Kimberley Process Certification conference in Tel Aviv. This was during the Intercessional Meeting in June 2010 where certification of Zimbabwe’s diamonds from the Marange area was blocked.
However, the KP secretariat official denied the allegation and said the diamond watch dog was a consensus-based organisation meaning all decisions were reached on consensus. “Only participants are allowed to vote. Participants are only the member-states (49 participants representing 75 countries as all EU countries are represented by the European Commission). Observers are the World Diamond Council representing the Diamond Industry and Global Witness and Partnership Africa-Canada representing the Civil Society organizations. Observers do not get the right to vote, but they are members of the Working Groups and they have the right to voice their opinions in all discussions,” Bar-El said.
Bar-El said according to the KP core document, KP participant countries could only trade in rough diamonds among themselves and only with a KP certificate authenticating that these diamonds were mined according the KP standards.
“Each country designates an authority within that country that is in charge of issuing KP certificates on behalf of that country. If a country is a member of the KP, it cannot sell its diamonds to non-KP member countries,” said the KP secretariat official.
The official added that the diamond industry had voluntarily agreed to adhere to the KP rules. “Therefore no member of this industry will trade in diamonds that do not hold a KP certificate otherwise he or she will be subject to penalties from the Industry Institutions and might even be expelled,” Bar-El said.
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