After much media attention and public outcry, the Kimberley Process was created in 2003 to address the problem of conflict diamonds. A voluntary and self policing international certification system, the Kimberley Process established standards for certifying the origin of rough diamonds with member countries pledging not to import or export rough diamonds tainted by conflict.

Unfortunately, the Kimberley Process does not oversee other human rights abuses including child labor, government sponsored violence, and worker exploitation. Currently, it only addresses the narrow UN definition of conflict diamonds as diamonds used to fund conflicts against recognized governments -- despite the fact that some recognized governments, in Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for instance, have shown little regard for the human rights of their citizenry.

To date, the Kimberley Process also ignores cutting and polishing centers as an entry point for conflict diamonds to enter general circulation. Global Witness documents how inadequate government regulation over cutting and polishing factories can allow conflict or illicit diamonds to enter legitimate channels of trade. Because the Kimberley Process only oversees diamond mines and has no oversight over cutting and polishing facilities, child labor and other documented human rights violations in manufacturing centers remain unregulated.

It remains to be seen whether the Kimberley Process will strengthen its system of oversight. Meanwhile, violent groups across the world continue to exploit the loose controls of the Kimberley Process to traffic illicit diamonds for profit. In its October 2007 report, Global Witness estimates that an illegal trade in rough diamonds worth $10.2 million may be taking place between Kimberley Process participant and non-participant countries.

Further Reading

Loopholes in the Kimberley Process: Summary of trade statistics review (Global Witness, Oct 20, 2007)

Blood Diamonds are Still a Reality (Amnesty International, Jan 23, 2007)

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In September of 2006, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report confirming that many avenues exist for conflict diamonds to enter the US. The GAO states that "domestically, the U.S. systems for reporting rough diamond statistics and for controlling imports and exports of these diamonds are vulnerable to illicit trade…" Lacking an effective system for confirming diamond imports, the United States does not follow the Kimberley Process requirements for avoiding possible diversions of rough diamond imports -- a violation of the Clean Diamond Act. Each year, the US reports exporting more diamonds than it receives, despite the fact that no diamonds originate from the US.

Sadly, US control systems do not deter illicit rough diamonds from entering the legitimate diamond trade.  As reported in July of 2007, federal agents seized 957 diamonds in Wilmington, Ohio in the second conflict diamond-related bust in the span of a few months. The shipment, allegedly imported in violation of the 2003 Clean Diamond Trade Act, did not conform to regulations specified by the Kimberley Process.

Further Reading

Agency Actions Needed to Enhance Implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act (US GAO, September 29, 2006)

Second Conflict Diamond Arrest (Jewelers Circular Keystone, July 1, 2007)

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