While the diamond industry has convinced the public that the Kimberley Process (KP)
certification scheme is keeping conflict diamonds off the market, recent events illustrate
how the KP has failed to concern itself with the violent conditions under which many of the
world’s diamonds are produced. The KP continues to certify diamonds from Zimbabwe, even
though diamond mining there is causing unspeakable human suffering. Diamonds that have
funded murders, forced labor, rape, and political oppression are currently on the market
with “conflict free” certification.

1. Zimbabwe’s diamonds support war and human rights abuses.

Hundreds of civilian miners have been murdered by the Zimbabwean military, which in
2008 seized valuable diamond fields in the country’s Marange district and continues to
oversee production. Human Rights Watch has documented mass murders, forced labor
of both adults and children, torture, beatings, and other human rights violations by the
Zimbabwean military. The KP’s own investigators have also documented cases of rape.
Furthermore, recent actions by the Zimbabwean military indicate that it is secretly trading
rough diamonds for weapons, thereby helping to fortify and prolong Robert Mugabe’s
oppressive and anti-democratic regime. Mugabe’s government has illegally seized mining
operations, ignored national court rulings, and stolen diamonds out of the country’s central
bank to line his party’s pockets.
 Zimbabwe’s diamond production is currently valued at $33 million dollars annually, with
over $150 million dollars smuggled out since 2003. The country is estimated to have over
16.5 million tons of diamond reserves available for mining.

2. Zimbabwe’s diamonds are being certified as “conflict free” by the Kimberley Process.

After its last politically charged and disorganized meeting in November 2009, the KP failed
to suspend Zimbabwe for its diamond mining abuses. The KP continues its inaction even
though Zimbabwe has not fulfilled its obligations and is threatening to voluntarily quit the
certification scheme if standards are enforced. “We are trying to play it.... following the KP,
but we can do it otherwise.... We can sell our own diamonds elsewhere,” Mugabe told
reporters on Feb 17, 2010.
Retaining its KP certification means that diamonds mined in Zimbabwe can be labeled as
“conflict-free” and sold in international markets. According to diamond industry veteran
Martin Rapaport, “Blood diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe, have been issued KP
certificates and imported into the cutting centers, where they were cut and polished and
then sold to dealers, jewelry manufacturers and retailers. Tens of thousands of carats of
blood diamonds are now in dealers’ inventories and jewelers’ showcases — and are being
actively sold to consumers. Instead of eliminating blood diamonds, the KP has become a
process for the systematic legalization and legitimization of blood diamonds.”

3. Major jewelers are not acting to ensure their diamonds are ethically acquired.

The KP has taken the feeble measure of temporarily banning the sale of new diamonds
whose origins in Marange can be proved. However, Human Rights Watch has warned that
“there is no way to guarantee that Marange stones are not being mixed with those produced
at Zimbabwe’s other two mines.” In addition, the temporary ban does not affect Marange
diamonds that already have KP certification. And, despite the temporary ban, gems from
the Marange district are being smuggled out of Zimbabwe and sold on the global diamond
market.
Although industry leaders including the World Diamond Council (WDC) have called on
jewelers to maintain “vigilance” to prevent the sale of diamonds from the Marange district,
a more appropriate response would be to call for an end to trading in all Zimbabwean
diamonds. Unfortunately, many jewelers continue to sell Zimbabwean diamonds as conflict-
free while failing to demand an international system that can ensure that all diamonds are
ethically mined.
Several weeks ago, Rapaport resigned from the WDC in protest over the organization’s
willingness to mislead consumers about the integrity of the international diamond market.
In his letter of resignation, he listed several recommendations, including this one: “The
WDC should immediately communicate to the jewelry trade that KP certification and the
WDC Systems of Warranty are insufficient and do not ensure that diamonds are free of
human rights violations.”

4. Most consumers do not realize they may be purchasing blood diamonds even in 2010.

A 2004 Amnesty International survey found that 83% of US jewelers says their customers
‘rarely or never’ inquire about the source of diamonds. A similar study in 2007 found that
56% of jewelers do not even have an auditing procedure in place to prevent the retail of
conflict diamonds. Those that do rely on the faulty KP certification.
Fine jewelry sales in the United States rose 14.3% from December 2008 to December 2009.
Approximately 50% of the $57.8 billion American jewelry market comes from diamonds.