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Diamond watchdog bids to deflect transparency flak
2006-11-09
An industry watchdog set up to stamp out the trade in conflict diamonds decided to tighten controls on Ghana where tainted stones are trafficked from conflict zones in west Africa. Delegates attending the Kimberly Process (KP) plenary in Botswana, the world's biggest diamond producer, issued a joint statement after four days of talks in which they also pledged to issue annual figures on efforts to end the trade. The statement said a plan had been approved "to help Ghana strengthen its internal diamond controls or face a possible loss of its Kimberley Process status. "A special Kimberley Process review mission will visit Ghana in three months to review progress," it said, adding there were "credible indications that Ghana has not complied with its ... obligations." They reviewed a report by experts who had been to Ghana's neighbour Ivory Coast, wracked by a four-year civil war, following reports that "diamonds mined in rebel-held territory are entering international markets through Ghana." The statement said the "working group on statistics should provide annual aggregated data on exports, imports, production and KP certificates count data to the chair" and implement 46 measures to strengthen the Kimberley Process. These include naming and shaming offenders, highlighting requirements related to illegal shipments and improving data gathering and analysis. "The plenary agreed to publish the names of participants which habitually fail to submit statistics (and) the plenary endorsed the concept of transparency in statistical reporting by approving the immediate release of KP data on trade and production by value and volume for 2004/05." The UN-mandated body, which came into force six years ago, is a joint bid by governments and the international diamond industry to prevent the proceeds of diamonds being used by rebel movements to finance military campaigns. Diamond producers have been particularly wary about the issue in recent weeks ahead of the release of an emotive movie starring Leonardo di Caprio and called "Blood Diamonds", funding an advertising campaign to deflect criticism of the industry. Apart from diamond industry and government officials, the meeting in Botswana -- one of the world's biggest diamond producers -- was also attended by pressure groups such as Partnership Africa Canada (PAC). Its spokesman Ian Smillie said that the meeting had managed to address his organisation's concerns. "A three-year, self-managed review ... failed to deal with several contentious issues including effective and credible government oversight on the diamond industry and statistical transparency," he said. "All these issues were addressed in a constructive manner." Outgoing KP chairman, Botswana's Kago Moshashane, said the review document had been adopted in its entirety, including all its recommendations. "I am pleased that this very important plenary session has been concluded on a positive note," he told reporters. "The clear message being sent by participant nations, civil society and the diamond industry is that this unique collaboration is determined to continue to work together. "We may not always agree on everything, but we are united in our view that the Kimberley Process is the best mechanism to bring a complete end to the trade in conflict diamonds," he added. Delegates also agreed to send a mission to Ghana to verify its compliance with its obligations under the terms of the process and offered the government in Accra assistance in strengthening internal controls. Venezuela will also receive a visit from monitors next month, sources attending the conference said.
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