Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting fails to agree on undated definition of conflict diamonds

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 28, 2019

The recent five-day Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting in New Delhi was unable to reach a consensus on a new definition for what constitutes a conflict diamond but made progress towards setting up a Permanent Secretariat and Multi-Donor Fund.

The Kimberley Process meeting, an annual event for the international diamond organisation, was chaired by India this year and concluded on November 22, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council posted on its website. Although no agreement could be reached at the meeting on a new definition for a conflict diamond as was intended, the organisation stated that its Ad Hoc Committee on Review and Reform had made significant progress towards strengthening the scope of the organisation in its core document.

The meeting welcomed “in-depth discussions… on how best to capture the evolving nature of conflict and actors involved in conflict, on the importance of capacity building and mutual support, and on the positive contribution of rough diamonds to prosperity, social and economic development,” read the Kimberley Process’ post-meeting statement, the GJEPC reported. 

The Kimberley Process set up a Technical Expert Team under its Working Group on Diamond Expert. The group will choose the country to host the next Plenary Meeting after receiving expressions of interest from Austria, Botswana, China, Russia, and the US. 

“The KP should not only be judged by what it prevents, but also by what it is able to facilitate,” said World Diamond Council president Stéphane Fischler after the meeting, the GJEPC reported. “Peace-making and nation-building are both part of its legacy, and it is vital that it uses all avenues at its disposal to achieve these goals.”

The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme that aims to eliminate conflict diamonds from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. The process was created in 2003 by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report.