By Erika W.

Thursday’s meeting ended in a stalemate with the civil society coalition walking out of the Kimberley Process intersessional, which is being held in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The meeting’s focus is on KP compliance of diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields. The Kimberley Process is designed to prevent conflict diamonds (rough diamonds sold to fund rebel groups fighting legitimate governments) from entering the market via certification of rough diamond origin. On the surface, the issues surrounding Marange diamonds delve into the term “conflict diamond” as defined by the KP. Marange diamonds are not being sold to fund rebel groups, but human rights abuses have been identified at the mines. *June 27, 2011 Update – Today in a released statement from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, President Avi Paz warned of the impact “at the lower end of the diamond supply pipeline.” “Millions of people, both in Zimbabwe, as well as in the major diamond manufacturing centres, such as India, who do not have any other means of income, are affected directly and soon enough the industry at large will fall victim to the lack of resolve of the KP,” said Paz. Read the articles linked below for the latest from the KP meeting in DRC.

Professional Jeweller: World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) “deplores breakdown of KP talks”

Avi Paz, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), has said that the uncompromising positions taken by some Kimberley Process (KP) members and the ensuing lack of agreement regarding the future of rough diamond exports from the Marange region in Zimbabwe may detriment the downstream end of the diamond supply pipeline. Read the article at professionaljeweller.com.

Rapaport News: World Diamond Council (WDC) Expresses Regret for Inconclusive Kimberley Process Meeting

Press Release: The World Diamond Council (WDC) has expressed its regret about the inconclusive end to the Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting in Kinshasa this past week. Read the article at Diamonds.net.

Idex: No Consensus, No Clarity on Zimbabwe Exports

The Kimberley Process failed once again to reach a decision about the exports of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange region. The failure comes despite the willingness of key countries to reach a compromise. Read the article at Idexonline.com.

Rapaport News: 2010: Civil Society Walks Out of Kimberley Process Meeting

The civil society coalition, one of the three pillars of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, walked out of the intersessional meeting Thursday saying negotiations with Zimbabwe were harming the scheme’s credibility. Read the article at Diamonds.net.

Rob Bates: The Kimberley Process: The Scheme Is Over?

I’m hearing about the current Kimberley Process Certification Scheme meeting in Kinshasha, DRC, sceond-hand, but apparently, after an initial burst of hope, the circus has returned. Zimbabwe has once again accused its critics of racism, and the NGOs have walked out of at least one session and cast a vote of “no confidence.” Read the article at JCK.

Global Witness: Civil society expresses vote of no confidence in conflict diamond scheme

Activist organisations today expressed a vote of no confidence in the Kimberley Process, and walked out of the scheme’s meeting in Kinshasa, in protest at its failure to address human rights abuses associated with the diamond trade. Read the article at globalwitness.org.

The Wall Street Journal: Diamond Monitor Grapples With Zimbabwe Decision

Members of the Kimberley Process are scrambling to bridge differences over Zimbabwe’s exports from a controversial diamond field, in a bid to stave off the collapse of the global diamond-monitoring group. Read the article at wsj.com.

Related Forum Discussions:

Three Questions concerning the Kimberley Process for all…

Ethical minimum standards for when you buy a diamond…???

Kimberley Process analysis..

Discuss Kimberley Process meeting updates on the Forum