The Kimberley Process Takes The Blood Out Of Diamonds

Diamonds, being the valuable commodity that it is

, has naturally attracted a great deal of interest from parties nobody in their right mind would be interested in supporting. Rebel groups funding their atrocities by the mining and selling of this valuable resource, omnipotent dictators doing the same. It has been a major headache for the people involved in the trade of gemstones to get a handle on this vast problem. The Kimberley Process was a big step in the right connection.

How It Started

It was with the initiation of the states of the south of Africa, that all were leading producers in the field, who at a meeting held in South Africa discussed the issue of the major conflicts the mining of this valuable commodity brought in its wake. This meeting was held in May 2000, and no later than December 2000, the UN passed a resolution saying that they were behind the construction of an international certification system applied to every step of the ladder concerning the trade of jewels.

In November 2002 another piece of the puzzle was added as governments, civil society movements and key proponents for the diamond industry could all agree upon a document known as the KPCS- Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The Number Of Participants

Here the saying "the more the merrier" really rings true, as involvement in this project is strongly recommended. So far, 77 countries has signed up for the membership sheet, where the European Union is counted as a single member state. The member state are made up of approximately 99.8% of all those involved in dealing straight from the source.

How Does It Work?

They apply an extensive set of legal framework to be followed by its member states, and that includes every part of the field. They demand that member states passes some of their requirements as a national legislation, and also to construct the proper bureaucratic infrastructure around the trade. Especially when it comes to exports, imports and domestic control.

The Kimberley Process also demands of its member states to allow for transparency into the institutions involved. The members of this process can only deal with other member states that fulfil the minimum requirements and standards.

An Immediate Effect

This process has shown immediate results in minimizing the flow of gemstones connected to rebel gangs or despotic governmental leaders. A recently estimated number given by independent experts of the trade, they say a mere fraction of a percent can nowadays be trailed back to having its origin in an area of conflict, where it just the last decade before the millennium peaked at 15%.

The impact this has had on people's lives is immense. In Sierra Leone alone, an area previously notorious for its trade with blood diamonds, now has a legal export of 125 million USD.

by: Kurt Ross

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