Africa-Press – Angola. Most members of the Kimberley Process support the proposal for a new definition of “conflict diamonds,” while a minority vetoed the term, which is currently known as “blood diamonds” this month in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In May of this year, the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) presented a proposal at the Kimberley Process mid-term session that seeks to update the definition to reflect the evolution of conflicts linked to diamonds.
It includes “armed groups and non-state armed groups,” as well as “individuals and figures sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council,” and operations that undermine legitimate governments and diamond-producing communities.
Although most members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Review and Reform of the Kimberley Process (AHCRR) supported the new definition, six participants, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, as well as one observer, the Civil Society Coalition, refused to support the initiative.
According to an ADPA press release on Thursday, the minority vetoed the new definition during the plenary meeting, which took place on November 17-21 in the United Arab Emirates.
During the meeting, the ADPA criticized the European Union and the Civil Society Coalition for “blocking consensus and trying to impose unilateral mechanisms to regulate the diamond trade outside the Kimberley Process.”
The ADPA is an intergovernmental organization that promotes the mining, trade, and sustainable development of diamonds in Africa. It is composed of 22 member states, 15 of which are full members and seven observers.
According to the document, the current definition is based on UN General Assembly Resolution 55/56, of 2000, a milestone that legitimized the Kimberley Process, an international system approved by the General Assembly in 2003 to certify the origin of diamonds and prevent the trade of “blood diamonds.”
The main objective was to prevent diamonds from financing wars and armed conflicts around the world.
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