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Diamond Controls Begin to Make Their Power Felt

Business Day (Johannesburg)
NEWS
November 21, 2002
Posted to the web November 21, 2002

By Emma Muller
Johannesburg
SEVERAL diamond manufacturing countries will be unable to trade in diamonds if
they fail to meet the January deadline for signing to the Kimberley Process
certification scheme aimed at curbing illicit diamond trade
However, campaigners are adamant that the process will move ahead and these
countries will be out of the loop.
De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer, denies that these countries'
failure to sign would directly affect the company. However it "would be a
problem for our clients", says company spokesman Andrew Bone.
An important participant in the Kimberley talks, Alex Yearsley of international
foundation Global Witness, says noncompliant countries will not be able to
trade in rough diamonds and polished stones will come under intense scrutiny.
The issue highlights the power of the process to which diamond centres such as
Antwerp, New York and Tel Aviv have already signed.
According to Global Witness, Thailand says it will join next year, Sri Lanka
has apparently said it will join but is not sure when and Vietnam is trying to
sign up next year.
With regard to Burma, Indonesia, Venezuela, Guyana and Armenia, Global Witness
says the process has tried to inform them. "They will get the message when they
can not trade," it says.
Several Antwerp diamond companies with manufacturing facilities in countries
like Vietnam, claim they have not been informed about the technical aspects of
the process.
"If you take Vietnam, which is not a trading centre, the goods are sent there
for processing and are returned to Antwerp on the basis of a much stricter
control system than in free market economies," says Marcel Grunberger of
Grunberger Diamonds in Antwerp.
Fifty-two governments, including the European Union, have agreed to participate
in the process and most will implement diamond control systems on January 1
next year.
The European Commission is close to finalising regulations for EU member
states, but says there are several issues that need be resolved.
Most EU states are concerned about the commission's proposal to confiscate
goods as a minimum sanction and about impending regulations to control illicit
diamond trade.
Some countries want to exclude extraterritoriality which requires regulations
to apply to European nationals living outside the EU and EU companies operating
outside of the EU.
"It is incredibly irresponsible for governments to be opposing
extraterritoriality," says Global Witness campaigner Corinna Gilfillan.
"Given the role that European companies and individuals have played in conflict
diamond trading, all member states should be supporting rather than opposing
it."

   

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