Certification system needed to stem blood diamonds

Conflict diamonds continue to pour out of Angola because it is still not possible to prosecute offenders, says Global Witness campaigner Alex Yearsley. "There are no active prosecutions because the UN and other governments say there is not enough evidence to try and convict individuals," Yearsley told IRIN on Tuesday. He said a global certification system being debated among the world's diamond producing countries, the diamond industry and other stakeholders would give authorities the evidence to prosecute those responsible for trading in conflict diamonds. A UN panel charged with monitoring sanctions against Jonas Savimbi's UNITA reported last week that more than US $1 million worth of diamonds were leaving Angola illegally every day. It said agents from various countries, including South Africa, Belgium and Israel, were turning a blind eye to conflict diamonds in their trading houses and bourses. "On the evidence presented to date, it is very clear the sanctions are not 100 percent effective. However, sanctions have had a significant impact on UNITA. It has restricted the financial ability of UNITA. If that brings them (Angola's warring parties) closer to peace, I don't know. But it has made it harder for UNITA to operate at home and abroad," Yearsley said. The UN Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA said in its report, however, that the rebel movement was probably only responsible for between 25 percent and 30 percent of diamonds leaving Angola illegally. The rest were smuggled from areas taken over by government troops. Yearsley said ruling MPLA party generals, among others, were known to be offenders and investigations were still under way to pinpoint those involved in the conflict diamond trade. The UN has opted for "naming and shaming" offenders, but, said Yearsley, with a certification system in place hopefully by some time next year, even bourses could take action against those suspected of illegal dealings. "The diamond industry is hiding behind the excuse that there is no legal instrument," Yearsley said. There were still hurdles to overcome before the certification system was ratified, he added. For example, issues around country-to-country documentation required to track diamonds were still being discussed in the European Commission to determine how the European Union, which operates as a single trade bloc, would comply. Another, he said, was the diamond industry's commitment to an independent audit in the chain of warranties. Meanwhile, the Security Council, after meeting on Friday, extended the mandate of the monitoring mechanism for another six months, and gave them 60 days to provide the UN Sanctions Committee with a "detailed action plan for its future work, in particular, but not exclusively, on sanctions on UNITA diamonds, violations of arms sanctions, and on UNITA finances". It also approved the hiring of four more experts to expedite the mechanism's work.