The Financial Gazette

Sara Toth Stub

TEL AVIV — Talks at the Kimberley Process conference about whether or not to certify diamonds exported from Zimbabwe’s Marange mine are at a standstill as the international group’s annual meeting draws to a close, participants said. “We so far haven’t been able to reach consensus on the Zimbabwe issue,” said Boaz Hirsch, chairman of the Kimberley Process, a group made up of 74 national governments, human rights activists and diamond industry officials.
It tries to prevent the trade of conflict diamonds that might be sources for financing wars. Israel currently holds the group’s rotating chairmanship.
Members meeting in Tel Aviv were set to reconvene in another closed session on Wednesday evening, in hopes of reaching a decision. The issue of whether or not the Kimberley Process should certify diamonds from the Marange mine has taken up much of the conference’s discussion over the last three days.
The Kimberley Process suspended its approval of diamonds exported from Zimbabwe’s Marange mine in 2009, but a recent Kimberley report said that the mine now has met minimum standards and its exports should be approved.
However, several human rights groups and some in the diamond industry itself have called for the Kimberley Process to oppose Zimbabwe’s exports of diamonds from the Marange mine, saying it is a site of forced labor and funds the government of President Robert Mugabe.
“We think resumption of the export of Marange diamonds, even in a limited capacity, would make the flow of blood diamonds out of Zimbabwe even easier, and the average consumer won't be protected,” said Tiseke Kasambala, a Human Rights Watch spokeswoman. Smuggling of Marange diamonds continues, Kasambala said, and brings President Mugabe’s government “millions of dollars”.
One of the issues that members disagree upon is whether or not the Kimberley Process’ definition of a conflict diamond, that mined or sold to finance rebel groups acting against local governments, is broad enough. Some have urged a broadening of the definition to include diamonds that provide financial support to governments in violation of human rights.
The current debate is new as it centres on how Zimbabwe’s government is profiting from the diamonds while engaging in human rights abuses, said Andrew Bone, a spokesman for De Beers, said in a statement.
“There are issues relating to personal security of Zimbabwe nationals, there is also the other issue of smuggling and security around mining deposits, etc., and it’s complicated, obviously, by the issue of Zimbabwe itself,” Bone said.
Proceedings of the Kimberley Process members were closed to the press, but one participant said the United States, Australia, Canada and the European Union do not support resuming export of Marange diamonds, while most African countries, Brazil, China, Russia, India, and the United Arab Emirates support the resumption of exports, based on the Kimberley Process’ recent report of conditions there.
Zimbabwe government officials at the proceedings accused the US, Australia, Canada and the European Union of playing politics, and opposing Marange diamonds in order to change Zimbabwe’s government regime, the participant said.
Chaim Even-Zohar, head of Tacy Ltd., an Israel-based diamond consulting and research firm, said that, if fully mined, diamonds from Marange could make up 25 percent of the global supply. The Kimberley Process has called for the release of human rights activist Farai Maguwu from prison in Zimbabwe.
He is accused of providing false information to Kimberley Process monitors. — Dow Jones Newswires.

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