Diamond certification scheme ready

The British-based lobby group Global Witness on Monday said it was optimistic that African countries would be ready to launch an international diamond certification scheme in November. "Despite some minor bureaucratic obstacles, the political will is certainly evident among African governments. In fact, several southern African countries already have the necessary mechanisms in place to go ahead with the implementation of the scheme," Alex Yearsley, a researcher at Global Witness, told IRIN. The international NGO has been at the forefront of the campaign against the trade in illegal diamonds. The certification scheme, known as the Kimberly process, aims to prevent so-called "blood diamonds" from entering the legitimate market, while at the same time protecting the diamond industry. "The major diamond producing countries like Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Angola have made significant progress in complying with the agreements reached during the Kimberley Process. What is remaining is the lack of enforcement within individual countries," Yearsley said. "Zambia and Zimbabwe still have a lot of work ahead of them and there is evidence that Zambia is still dealing in rogue diamonds from Angola," he added. The certification scheme, chaired by South Africa, is basically an export and import control mechanism. Under the scheme diamond producer countries would control the production and transport of rough diamonds from the mine to the point of export. Shipments of rough diamonds would be sealed in tamper-resistant containers and a "Kimberley process" certificate issued for each shipment. "Importing countries will inspect the seal and the certificate at the time of import. Imports of rough diamonds not accompanied by a certificate issued by a Kimberly process participant will be prohibited, as will exports to non-participants," the South African representative on the Kimberley process working group, Rene Pretorius, told IRIN. The diamond industry was also expected to introduce a system of self regulation to support government efforts. "Of course, it is not a fool-proof system but it will be extremely difficult for illegal traders to operate. If a diamond cutting operation suddenly springs up overnight without the Kimberley certification, it can be shut down," Yearsley said. He added that one of the shortcomings of the scheme was the lack of a monitoring system. "It is imperative that a system be set up to monitor the internal controls underpinning the issue of certificates. We will stress the importance of such a mechanism as soon as implementation is underway," Yearsley said. Diamond producing states, NGOs, and the industry plan to launch the certificattion scheme on 5 November in Geneva, Switzerland.