The Kimberley Process

As a result of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, diamonds are among the most monitored and audited of any natural resource in the world. This system has proven to be an essential and effective tool in combating the scourge of conflict diamonds. — Eli Izhakoff, Chairman, World Diamond Council

Origins

The momentum came from three things in quick succession: the 1998 report A Rough Trade, the United Nations’ recognition of conflict diamonds that same year, and the Fowler Report of 2000, written by the Canadian ambassador to the UN, Robert Fowler. Together they led the UN to convene a meeting in Kimberley, South Africa, with the southern African diamond-producing nations, to end the trade in conflict diamonds.

In December 2000 the UN General Assembly backed the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established in November 2002, and by 2003 it was controlling and regulating rough diamond production and trade.

How a country joins

Today 75 countries are members — the European Community counting as a single participant — alongside the World Diamond Council, Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada. To join, a country must meet the minimum requirements set out by the KPCS and submit its application to the KP Chair, who evaluates it together with the participation committee.

A country that qualifies must then put real structures behind its commitment:

• National legislation and institutions to govern the trade.
• Export, import and internal controls over every parcel of rough.
• A commitment to transparency and the exchange of statistical data.

The effect runs deeper than paperwork. When a country enters the scheme, the wealth of its diamond production becomes a political stabiliser and a contribution to peace, while the transparency demanded of participants forces governments to show their finances — and holds them accountable for what they spend on their people. The scheme has its frontier cases: Côte d’Ivoire, the one place where rebel forces controlled mines, was sealed off with the help of its neighbours; the Republic of Congo was expelled for exporting large quantities of rough it could not account for, despite having no mining industry of its own; and Venezuela voluntarily suspended its trade in 2008 while maintaining good contact with the scheme.

The System of Warranties

The Kimberley Process certifies shipments of rough between governments — it does not certify individual jewellers. To carry the guarantee all the way to the buyer, the trade created the System of Warranties, adopted by every member, under which sellers and buyers of both rough and polished diamonds must make this statement on all invoices:

The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The undersigned hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds.

A seller may only issue that warranty when it can be corroborated by warranty invoices received for their own purchases. By keeping records of both the warranties they give and the warranties they receive, every member of the trade can certify that their diamonds are conflict-free. Failure to follow these principles prompts investigation and can result in expulsion from the industry’s institutions. For the customer, the chain ends in a simple assurance: the diamond on the invoice can be traced to legitimate hands.