Tentative agreement reached to stop trade in "conflict diamonds"

Delegates attending talks on "conflict diamond" in Gaborone, Botswana have reached a tentative agreement to help stem the trade in the illegal gems that are fuelling conflicts in countries like Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Alex Yearsley from the campaign group Global Witness who is attending the discussions told IRIN: "We have almost reached a final agreement, and we will be ready to present it to the United Nations in December for a resolution to be tabled in the General Assembly."

The UN has defined "conflict diamonds" as "diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognised governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments".

Yearsley said that although Global Witness was not "fully satisfied" with the agreement, the organisation was however "greatly encouraged". He said that issues surrounding the monitoring and evaluation of a certification scheme still needed to be "worked on".

"There are also still some issues surrounding WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatibility as some countries are not completely happy with this part of the agreement," Yearsley said.

Diplomatic sources told IRIN that it was important to recognise the progress that had been made in the last 18 months. "The terrain that has been covered is impressive," one western diplomat said.

The Gaborone meeting is part of the Kimberley Process aimed at developing a system to prevent conflict diamonds from making their way on to the open market.

Meanwhile, news reports said that the US Congress had on Wednesday approved a bill to prevent the sale of conflict diamonds. Reports said that a companion bill has been introduced in the Senate and was also expected to pass.

Under the bill, the US president would have the authority to sanction countries that refused to adopt a system for tracking diamonds to ensure they were from legitimate sources. The legislation effectively makes the United States the first country to regulate the diamond industry.

Reports said that once enacted the law would go into affect immediately and included an estimated US $10 million over two years to help poor countries set up certification systems.