Global Policy Forum

By Francois Misser

The embargo on Unita rebels' illicit diamond trade is proving to be virtually unenforceable. The obstacles start at home with the Angolan government, writes Francois Misser in Antwerp The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution, passed in June last year and imposing an embargo on rebel Angolan group Unita's diamonds, is gaining momentum.

On April 1, the ACP-European Union Joint Assembly, which groups representatives from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, including SA and European MPs, voted in a resolution which called for "a thorough investigation by the (European) Commission into the conduct of the diamond trade with a view to eliminating smuggling by (Unita leader Jonas) Savimbi to fund his war effort".

The vote follows a call made in March by Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke to the European Union (EU) to investigate the links between diamond sales from Africa and arms trafficking. Derycke admitted that owing to the importance of the diamond sector in Belgium, investigations should take place there, and also in the UK and SA.

It is believed that about 80% of transactions in rough diamonds take place in the Belgian city of Antwerp, despite the fact that De Beers' commercial arm, the Central Selling Organisation, is based in London. However, despite these recent resolutions, Unita's war machine has proved more effective than ever. Robert Fowler, chairman of the UN Security Council sanctions committee, has urged member states to take further measures, including legislation to make violations of the sanctions a criminal offence and to get from private companies and individuals information on the illicit diamond trade with Unita.

British nongovernmental organisation Global Witness accused De Beers in December of having bought Unita's gems since 1992. De Beers replied: "We do not purchase any Angolan diamonds which may be offered to us where their provenance is uncertain. From the outset of sanctions, De Beers has been in contact with and offered assistance to the Angolan government, and has also written to the UN secretary-general (Kofi Annan), stating our position and offering assistance."

It remains to be seen whether this rhetoric will curb Unita's illegal trade. Global Witness, which focuses on the links between environmental and human rights abuses, also noted loopholes in the control of imported diamonds to Belgium where Angolan diamonds were described as originating from other countries.

Global Witness also charged that Zambian ministry of mines officials had provided false certificates of origin for Angolan diamonds smuggled out by Unita.

Jan de Kesel, general director of the Antwerp-based Diamond High Council, which defends the industry's interests, has claimed that the Belgian authorities are "rigorously" respecting UN sanctions.

Nevertheless, he says he does not know whether other important trade centres, such as Tel Aviv, are implementing measures to enforce the embargo. In any case, De Kesel says the real problem lies in Angola and its neighbouring states.

Angolan parastatal company Endiama has admitted that only about 10% of the country's diamond output is exported legally. Indeed, Global Witness itself stressed the Angolan government's "failure to operate a rigorous system of controls". Its certificates of origin do not bear printed names or titles under the signatures, and the government has not responded to requests from Belgium for a list of approved signatories.

One reason for this lack of transparency could be that Angolan army officers and relatives of the president are themselves involved in the diamond trade, and do not want to leave a trail of their activities.

Portuguese weekly Expresso reported in February that the Angola Diamond Corporation, a company run by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's daughter, Isabel, holds 60% of the capital of a concession in Lunda Norte. The contract was awarded to her through a deal imposed by government officials who ousted the original contractor.

Another problem is that export routes for Angola's unofficial diamonds have changed over the past two years. Until early 1997, diamonds were smuggled through former Zaire and Congo-Brazzaville and sent directly to Antwerp. However, the takeover by Angola's allies in Kinshasa and in Brazzaville forced Unita to find alternative routes.

Global Witness claims that one of these is Zambia, where a local newspaper has reported ministers confirming that smuggled Angolan diamonds are being sold in Mongu in western Zambia.

Another new route could be through Kisangani, in the rebel-held area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Belgian state security is investigating claims that an intermediary of Antwerp-based diamond trader Glasszoll opened a gem-buying office there in 1998 and recently bought parcels of Unita's diamonds.

Antwerp is no longer the main destination for Unita's gems, at least not their direct destination: only 14593 carats were exported from Zambia to Belgium last year, according to Diamond High Council statistics. Uganda and Rwanda, which presumably re-export Angolan and Congolese diamonds, sent only 11303 carats and 166 carats respectively to Belgium last year. This is a fraction of Unita's 1998 sales of about $200m.

Most Unita diamonds are now going to Israel, says a former adviser to Pascal Lissouba, ex-president of Congo-Brazzaville. Israel's sympathies for Unita are an open secret. Accordingly, an Israeli security company, linked to diamond and oil interests, facilitates the transport of the gems between the Zambian capital, Lusaka, and Tel Aviv. Sources say it is possible that old routes via Togo and Cí´te d'Ivoire are still operational.

To complicate matters, diamond dealers concede that it is almost impossible to identify individual stones as Angolan because dealers often mix gems of different origins. This leads Israeli diamond industry circles to dismiss the sanctions as "unrealistic".

In addition, a European Commission official says the organisation is not able to monitor the implementation of UN sanctions by EU member states as it is up to each member to do so.

The embargo debate has generated some nervousness in Antwerp's diamond circles. A journalist inquiring about violations of the embargo was recently threatened with death.

The secrecy that surrounds the diamond trade, major vested interests by arms traders and some African governments make the success of any moves to crack diamond smuggling almost a pipe dream. In fact, it is likely to make the smuggling circuits more complex.

Francois Misser is a freelance journalist.