Members of the Kimberely Process are having a tough time with Zimbabwe. The ban on sales from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond field has brought a major crisis to the global diamond monitoring group. Now exports from the Marange field have been allowed by the Kimberly members but there are divided opinions on how to monitor the overseas sales.
The week long meeting in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo allowed the members enough time to come to terms with permitting the sale of the diamonds from Zimbabwe. China and India sided with Zimbabwe to permit the exports.
However nations like the US and Canada are not sure they wish to allow the sales before Zimbabwe shows tangible improvement in the conditions for miners in the area. The fear that the money which the sales bring in will fuel internal conflicts in the nation are also quite serious.
There is also the fact that the cash strapped government of Zimbabwe may not have any other alternative but to find illicit channels to sell its diamonds if the Kimberly Process does not allow them to export the diamonds legally.
The future of the Kimberly Process as the international guard dog for the international diamond trade industry may well rest on the final decision that its members reach this Thursday. The Kimberly Process was first initiated in 2003 to ensure that internationally traded diamonds do not come from areas where the mining of the jewels is used to fund conflicts.