EC to introduce diamond certification scheme

The EC has prepared draft legislation aimed at introducing an international certification system for trade in rough diamonds - known as the "Kimberley Process" - into the euro zone.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the EC said the purpose of the scheme was to prevent "conflict" or "blood" diamonds from fuelling armed conflicts in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola or Sierra Leone. "An effective ban will deprive rebel movements of significant finances and will therefore be an important contribution to peace and stability," the EC said. A further aim of the scheme was to protect the legitimate diamond industry, it added.

The EC envisaged a certification scheme, it said, which would serve as "an export- and import-control regime". The producers of diamonds would control the production and transport of rough diamonds from mines to points of export. Shipments would be sealed in tamper-resistant containers and a Kimberley Process certificate issued for each shipment. Diamonds without the compulsory certificate would be prohibited by importing countries, added the EC.

Belgium, which handles more than 80 percent of the world's trade in rough diamonds, has welcomed the move. A statement issued, also on Thursday, by Belgian Foreign Trade Minister Annemie Neyts said the implementation of the Kimberley Process was "of the greatest importance" for her country.

She noted, however, that current Belgian laws, which allow for physical checks of rough diamonds being traded within the EU - as well as those at its external borders - were stricter than those to be introduced by the commission. "Minister Neyts warns that the commission's proposal implies for Belgium that the physical checks on trade within the EU will have to be abandoned."

The proposed legislation would be discussed by member states in September, the Belgian statement said.

The international advocacy group, Fatal Transactions, estimates that 500,000 civilians have lost their lives over the past decade in the diamond wars of Angola, Sierra Leone and the DRC.