$13B diamond industry still having human cost in Africa

Posted in News by Admin on May 21st, 2007

From Amador Ledger-Dispatch - Aron Heller, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) - The diamond industry must do more to safeguard human rights in Africa, keep the gems out of the hands of criminals and terrorists and address pressing issues of child labor and substandard work conditions and wages, leading industry officials said Thursday.

At the same time, speakers at the annual World Diamond Council conference claimed great progress the industry has made in curbing the use of diamonds to fund wars in Africa. The so-called “Kimberley Process” requires certification to ensure gems do not come from illegal trade that supports conflicts.

Jerusalem hosted the conference this year because Israel is one of the world largest centers for trade and manufacturing of diamonds, including polished diamonds and rough diamonds.

World Diamond Council chairman Eli Izakoff said “conflict diamonds” now account for only 0.2 percent of the world’s diamond production, down from 4 percent in 1999. The rough diamond industry rakes in some $13 billion a year, Izakoff said.

Ivory Coast remained the main culprit, and labor and development issues, such as work conditions, wages and dealing with corrupt governments, have replaced “conflict diamonds” as the industry’s main problem, officials said.

“The days when people didn’t know or didn’t care are over,” said Gareth Penny, the managing director of De Beers, which controls about 40 percent of the world’s diamond trade. He said such “ethical consumers” have forced the entire industry to evolve.

“Conflict diamonds” captured the world’s attention during the brutal conflict in Sierra Leone in the 1990s.

The issue recently drew increased public awareness because of “Blood Diamond,” a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly, which showed how “conflict diamonds” financed civil war in Sierra Leone.

Aside from the Ivory Coast, the industry has all but eradicated the phenomenon, Izhakoff said. He welcomed the movie, since it highlighted how much progress has been done since.

“The film allows us an opportunity to tell our story, and we have a very good story to tell,” he said. “The things that were before 2000 will never be again.”

The World Diamond Council was set up in July 2000 to explore ways to reduce trafficking in conflict diamonds. It is separate from the Kimberley Process, a voluntary 71-nation group.

In 2002, the U.N. launched the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a program to certify the origins of rough gems. It allows the diamond industry to block stones mined in conflict zones from sale in overseas markets.

Last month the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to lift a ban on Liberian diamond exports imposed in 2001 when so-called “blood diamonds” were being used to fuel civil wars in western Africa. Former President Charles Taylor, who went into exile in August 2003, faces war crimes charges stemming from his alleged backing of Sierra Leone’s rebels, who terrorized victims by chopping off their arms, legs, ears and lips.

Alex Yearsley, an activist from the nonprofit group Global Witness, commended the diamond industry for the strides it has made since those days, “but I would urge you to expand that,” he said.

He said human rights violations still occurred in diamond-harvesting Africa nations run by corrupt governments. He cited the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola as the most worrying cases. He also encouraged the WDC to suspend Venezuela from its ranks for not complying with the Kimberley Process.

Sergey Vybornov, the president of Alrosa, Russia’s state diamond monopoly, said there was more work to be done.

“The Kimberley Process is the first, far-reaching first step toward enhancing the diamond industry transparency. And this important accomplishment deserves high praise. However, just like any other initiative in progress, the Kimberly Process is facing new challenges today,” Vybornov said. “We do not know how many diamonds end up in the gray economy and are used by criminal and terrorist organizations.”