Global Policy Forum

on February 6, 2002

Breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts

Recognizing that the trade in conflict diamonds is a matter of serious international concern, which can be directly linked to the fuelling of armed conflict, the activities of rebel movements aimed at undermining or overthrowing legitimate governments, and the illicit traffic in, and proliferation of armaments, especially small arms and light weapons;

Further recognizing the devastating impact of conflicts fuelled by the trade in conflict diamonds on the peace, safety and security of people in affected countries and the systematic and gross human rights violations that have been perpetrated in such conflicts;

Noting the negative impact of such conflicts on regional stability and the obligations placed upon states by the United Nations Charter regarding the maintenance of international peace and security;

Recognizing therefore that urgent action to curb the trade in conflict diamonds is imperative;

Recognizing the positive benefits of the legitimate diamond trade to producing countries, and that provision of assistance to the developing producing countries should be encouraged to further develop their production capacity and markets for their diamonds and to encourage competitive, diversified and open markets for trade in rough diamonds;

Underlining the need for urgent international action to prevent the problem of conflict diamonds from negatively affecting the trade in legitimate diamonds, which makes a critical contribution to the economies of many of the producing, exporting, and importing states, especially developing states;

Recalling all the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter and determined to contribute to and support the implementation of the measures provided for in these resolutions;

Recalling United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 (2000) calling on the international community to develop detailed proposals for a simple and workable international certification scheme for rough diamonds based primarily on national certification schemes and on internationally agreed minimum standards;

Beliving that the opportunity for conflict diamonds to play a role in fuelling armed conflict can be seriously reduced by introducing a certification scheme for rough diamonds and that such a scheme would help protect the legitimate trade and ensure the effective implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council containing sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds;

Emphazing that the envisaged certification scheme for rough diamonds should be effective and pragmatic, should not impede the present legitimate trade in diamonds or impose an undue burden on Governments or industry, particularly smaller producers, and not hinder the development of the diamond industry;

Acknowledging the important initiatives already taken to address the problem of conflict diamonds, in particular by the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone and by other key producing exporting and importing countries and encourage those governments to continue these initiatives;

Welcoming the important contribution made by the Kimberley Process, an inclusive consultation process of Governments, industry and civil society initiated by the African producing countries, towards developing proposals for such an international certification scheme for rough diamonds;

Welcoming the important contribution made by the diamond industry, in particular the World Diamond Council, as well as civil society, to assist international efforts to stop the trade in conflict diamonds;

Welcoming voluntary self-regulation initiatives for the diamond industry announced by the World Diamond Council and recognising that a system of such voluntary self-regulation will contribute to ensuring the effectiveness of national systems of internal controls for rough diamonds;

Recognizing that an international certification scheme for rough diamonds will only be credible if all participants have established internal systems of control designed to eliminate the presence of conflict diamonds in the chain of producing, exporting and importing rough diamonds within their own territories, while taking into account that differences in production methods and trading practices as well as differences in institutional controls thereof may require different approaches to meet minimum standards;

Emphazing the importance of ensuring that the measures taken to implement the international certification scheme for rough diamonds are consistent with international law governing international trade;

Noting with approval that the Kimberley Process has pursued its deliberations on an inclusive basis, involving concerned stake-holders including producing, exporting and importing states, the diamond industry and civil society;

Recognizing that state sovereignty should be fully respected and the principles of equality, mutual benefits and consensus should be adhered to;

Welcoming important progress by the Kimberley Process to date, in particular the development of a Working Document containing the Essential Elements of an International Scheme of Certification for Rough Diamonds, with a view to breaking the link between armed conflict and the trade in conflict diamonds.

1. Notes with appreciation the report by the Chair of the Kimberley Process submitted further to Resolution 55/56 and congratulates the Kimberley Process participants on their achievements thus far;

2. Calls for the full implementation of existing Security Council measures targeting the role played by the illicit trade in rough diamonds in fuelling conflict;

3. Welcomes the detailed proposals agreed at the Ministerial meeting in Gaborone, Botswana on 29 November 2001, towards an international certification scheme for rough diamonds developed by the participants in the Kimberley Process and presented in the form of Kimberley Process Working Document 9/2001 (as amended) "Essential Elements of an International Scheme of Certification for Rough Diamonds, with a view to breaking the link between armed conflict and the trade in rough diamonds", dated 29 November 2001, notes that the measures proposed are reasonable and proportionate and that they include regular review of the certification scheme;

4. Urges the implementation of the certification scheme as soon as possible, recognising the urgency of the situation from a humanitarian and security standpoint;

5. Welcomes the extension of the mandate of the Kimberley Process until such time as an international certification scheme is adopted and its simultaneous implementation by participants begins;

6. Encourages the Kimberley Process to resolve outstanding issues including verification measures, administrative considerations and the nature of a possible international instrument covering the certification scheme;

7. Underlines the need, as an essential tool for the successful implementation of the international certification scheme, for the collation and dissemination of statistical data on the production of, and international trade in, rough diamonds;

8. Stresses that the widest possible participation in the proposed certification scheme is essential and should be encouraged and facilitated;

9. Welcomes the offer by the Government of Canada to host the next meeting of the Kimberley Process in Ottawa, in order to achieve further progress in addressing outstanding issues, and towards implementation of the envisaged certification scheme at the earliest possibility;

10. Requests the countries participating in the Kimberley Process to present to the General Assembly, no later than its 57th session, a report on progress made;

11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its 57th session the item entitled "The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.