Ministers from diamond producing countries and main players in the industry agreed Thursday to start implementing an international certification scheme they hope will eliminate so-called conflict diamonds from the international trade.
A ministerial statement issued in Pretoria where a three-day conference sought to obtain consensus on anti-smuggling measures to be implemented said that an international system of certification -- rather than "fingerprinting" individual gems -- had been adopted.
"We favor a simple and effective system that does not place undue burden on governments and industry, especially smaller players," the statement said.
But the statement warned that such a system was still some way off becoming a reality, as conflict-torn African countries such as Angola still needed to develop their administrative capacities.
Industry players and countries like Russia were also wary of calls for an international body that would oversee the international diamond trade for reasons of sovereignty, insiders said.
The initiative comes amid fears that legitimately mined gems from Africa may suffer from a consumer backlash against perceptions that diamonds are chiefly responsible for Africa's many civil wars.
British junior foreign minister Affairs Peter Hain warned that an antipathy towards African diamonds would affect the entire industry.
"Were consumers to reject African diamonds -- or any diamonds -- because we were not doing enough to control the illicit trade, all would suffer," he said.
Conflict diamonds -- used to fund civil wars in Africa -- are defined as those sold by rebel movements.
The London-based non-governmental organization (NGO) Global Witness criticized that definition as too narrow.
"We would consider any diamonds coming out of the Democratic Republic of Congo as conflict diamonds," said Alex Yearsley of Global Witness.
"Diamonds are obviously fuelling that war -- and the current president (Laurent Kabila) is using diamonds to keep up his war effort while refusing to negotiate a political settlement."
The DRC has been wracked by civil war since August 1998, with Kabila recently standing out against efforts to implement a ceasefire.
International trade laws meanwhile need to be incorporated into the proposals to implement a "mine-to-finger" system of sealed containers and standardized certificates of origin.
To this end, another inter-governmental conference is to be held in London in late October that players said would look at ways of assisting African countries to develop anti-smuggling measures.
Main industry players say conflict diamonds make up no more than four percent of the 6.8 billion dollars worth of rough diamonds produced each year -- half of them in Africa -- while critics estimate this to be as high as 15 percent.
Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Jesaya Nyamu warned that the campaign against diamonds was reaching a crescendo.
"By Christmas this onslaught on the diamond industry would have reached a climax," he said, maintaining that "fanatical NGOs" and the media were giving unwarranted publicity to the issue.
Producing countries are also seeking direct representation on the World Diamond Council, set up as in industry regulatory body last July, with sub-Saharan countries seeking to increase their share of the 50 billion dollar a year gem trade.
Most of the profits in the international trade accrue in international cutting and trading centers like London, Antwerp, Belgium, Tel Aviv and New York.
"I am baffled that the governments of producing states of southern Africa have not been invited to be members of the so-called World Diamond Council," Nyamu said -- PRETORIA(AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
