Category Archives: Press

(New York, NY) – May 15, 2006 – In 1999, conflict diamonds- rough diamonds that are used by rebel movements in parts of Africa to finance wars against legitimate governments- represented roughly 4% of the world’s rough diamond output. To stop this illegal trade, the diamond industry worked with the United Nations, over 45 countries and several NGOs, to help stamp out the atrocities and violence.

On January 29, 2003, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1459 – the Kimberley Process – endorsing a method of verification intended to stop the sale of conflict diamonds. The effort has been remarkably effective. Today, the number of conflict diamonds has dropped to considerably less than 1% with 68 countries adhering to this process.

However, despite the amazing strides that have been made, there is a continuing need to raise awareness of the Kimberley Process and how the issue of conflict diamonds has been tackled head on by the industry and governments around the world.

A recent focus on conflict diamonds in popular music and entertainment is raising questions and concerns among both consumers and the trade. In response, the World Diamond Council, in alliance with the American Gem Society, Diamond Dealers Club, Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America, Jewelers of America, Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Jewelry Information Center and the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, is creating a forceful educational campaign to launch at the JCK Las Vegas trade show in June 2006.

The campaign will be two fold. First, the educational campaign will help the trade understand how the Kimberley Process can assure consumers that the diamonds they wish to buy are conflict-free. Second, the campaign will aim to educate consumers through a variety of initiatives to both highlight the beneficial effects that the diamond industry has on Africa and to explain the Kimberley Process. The latter is to insure that consumers can be confident that their diamonds purchases are conflict free.

“It is important for the campaign to highlight not only the deep emotional bond symbolized by a piece of diamond jewelry, but also the positive impact this industry has on the thousands of people in Africa who rely on the sale of diamonds for the stability and prosperity of their countries,” said Eli Izhakoff, Chairman of the World Diamond Council.

The World Diamond Council and industry leaders will showcase the campaign in June at JCK to better inform all members of the trade about this important issue. Highlights will include free confidence kits and a tactical seminar, giving members of the trade the tools to speak with complete understanding of the Kimberley Process, as well as trade advertisements, social responsibility brochures and a new website that will speak directly to consumers, trade and the media.

“In order for this campaign to successfully educate consumers about the swift and effective response to the trade of conflict diamonds, it is vital that the entire industry stand behind the Kimberley Process and the great work that is being done,” said Izhakoff. “Men and women around the world must be reassured that their diamond purchase is just as pure, magical and special as their eternal love, symbolized so well in the unique beauty of a diamond.”

(New York, NY) – September 29, 2006 – The World Diamond Council (WDC) released the following statement today from its Chairman Eli Izhakoff in response to the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) report on the implementation of the United States Clean Diamond Act, the U.S. law that enforces the UN-mandated Kimberley Process (KP) on the import and export of rough diamonds:

“The WDC is in full agreement with the GAO report in its assessment of both the success and weaknesses of the implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act. The report acknowledged that the U.S. systems for reporting rough diamond statistics and controlling imports and exports of rough diamonds have improved. However, it also noted that there are vulnerabilities to the system and provided several recommendations for improvements. The report offered no evidence that there are conflict diamonds entering the U.S. market.

The integrity and effectiveness of the KP are of paramount importance to the international diamond industry. The GAO report states that the Kimberley Process Certification System covers 99.8 per cent of global production of rough diamonds. This success is a direct result of the collaboration between the diamond industry, NGOs and governments, of which the United Sates played a crucial and leading role. In the interests of sustaining the integrity of the KP, we believe the report’s recommendations should be implemented immediately. The WDC is committed to continue working with the U.S. government to further improve the existing systems, increase the accuracy of U.S. rough diamond trade data, as well as enhance procedures for inspecting rough diamond imports and exports.

The WDC maintains its position that one diamond traded outside the law is one too many, and we remain committed to building on the success the KP has already achieved. This is why the WDC is also actively working to improve the KP on the export side. The WDC recently appealed to all KP participants to act swiftly to resolve the serious issue of reports that rough diamonds from the Ivory Coast are being smuggled into Ghana bypassing KP procedures. It is our hope that by addressing the issue of conflict diamonds at its source, the WDC along with our partners, will be able further improve upon the KP.”

(Gaborone, Botswana) – November 6, 2006

Mr Chairman, Participants and Observers of the Kimberley Process,

Thank you for the opportunity to address this Plenary.

I believe this constitutes the most important plenary session in the history of the Kimberley Process. Over the next few days it will become clear whether or not this unique collaboration of governments, civil society and the international diamond industry – on which many of us have laboured so hard over the past six years – has successfully secured the future of this international agreement to eradicate conflict diamonds.

In the view of the diamond industry, failure is not an option.

Millions of people around the world depend on the diamond industry for their livelihoods, many of them from developing countries. Countries, like Botswana, Namibia and South Africa that have used this precious natural resource to help build stable and thriving democracies, and to bring the benefits of education, healthcare and employment to their people.

We in the diamond industry acknowledge that to ensure a sustainable future for ourselves, countries like Botswana, the other diamond producing countries and critically those countries recovering from conflict, the industry must act responsibly and ensure that our business is both transparent and accountable. In order to achieve this we need a Kimberley Process Certification Scheme that is effective and above all credible.

Some cynical and ill-informed observers have said that the diamond industry is not interested in a robust and effective Certification Scheme.

This is an absurd and unjust view that, in any case, defies logic. This is an industry that, more than most, is dependent on safeguarding consumer confidence.

The Kimberley Process is our primary safeguard.

Let me make this absolutely clear. The international diamond industry believes that a workable and effective Kimberley Process is absolutely essential if we and the millions of people who depend on this industry are to be properly protected from criminal activity and rebel or terrorist organizations that have no interest whatsoever in protecting the lives of innocents, in business ethics or in sustainable development in Africa.

We will not tolerate these people in, or associated in any way with our industry and we urge all Participant governments to do everything in their power to bring them to justice.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. We have a busy few days ahead of us. Have no doubt, the eyes of the world are on us and they will expect us all to deliver.

First, and most pressing, is for this Plenary to agree on a resolution that will deal with reports of diamonds being smuggled from Ivory Coast into neighbouring countries. We also call for urgent and immediate action to be taken to investigate and address alleged violations of the Kimberley Process in several other participant countries. Whatever measures are necessary to achieve this must be agreed amongst Participants this week and implemented without further delay.

We encourage all Participant governments to review their own internal Kimberley Process control mechanisms to ensure they are fully effective, with particular regard to the need for periodic physical inspections of imports and exports of rough diamonds and random sampling of traders in rough diamonds to verify compliance.

Furthermore, with regard to recommendations in the Kimberley Process Review, the World Diamond Council believes it important for the credibility of the Kimberley Process, and in the interests of transparency, that statistics on the movement of rough diamonds be made public, and urges Participants to cooperate with the Working Group on Statistics to ensure such statistics are complied, collated and published most effectively.

At the June intersessional, government, civil society and industry all agreed that the peer review missions had exceeded expectations. They are one of several measures that have brought real credibility to the Kimberley Process, not least through the participation of civil society in these missions. However, we agree with civil society that their continued participation is not sustainable unless they are properly funded. It is not reasonable to expect them to carry on paying their own way when they are constrained by limited budgets and provide such a valuable service to the Kimberley Process. Whilst the industry will of course continue to fund its own participation in review missions, we recommend that the Working Group on Monitoring devise an appropriate and equitable solution.

It is also of critical importance that the reports of the peer review missions are produced and acted upon swiftly. The current delay in some of these reports is unacceptable and immensely damaging to the credibility of the Kimberley Process.

The World Diamond Council and those it represents are proud of the contribution made by the diamond industry in the development of the Kimberley Process. For example, it was the industry that developed the first Kimberley certificate six years ago, in collaboration with the Government of Sierra Leone. It is in Sierra Leone that leading members of the diamond industry are contributing positively in building capacity and taking a lead in helping local communities to benefit from artisanal production. The need to address the economic, social, environmental and development impact of informal mining on these communities is at the heart of initiatives being undertaken by industry in partnership with civil society.

Industry members participate in and contribute to each of the Working Groups and in the peer review missions. The industry has also provided capacity building and transferred skills to Participant government diamond offices, most recently in Liberia where the industry’s assistance is recognized as crucial to rehabilitating that country’s diamond industry and providing an opportunity for the United Nations to lift sanctions and for us to be able to welcome it, in due course, into the family of Kimberley Process Participants.

However, nothing is more important to the industry than the effective implementation of our self-regulation measures, especially the System of Warranties. In recent months we have gone to great lengths to raise further industry awareness and encourage compliance across the whole spectrum of the diamond and jewelry business worldwide, and you will have received details of these efforts from the World Diamond Council.

But we cannot do it alone and we call upon all Participating governments to increase their oversight of the System of Warranties, to check both periodically and on the basis of risk assessment that diamond companies are not only demanding and issuing the Warranties required within the Kimberley Process provisions, but also that the issue and receipt of such Warranties is being recorded and properly verified by the companies’ external auditors.

I repeat, a credible, transparent and accountable Kimberley Process, accompanied by an effective and appropriately monitored System of Warranties is essential to the future of our industry and those economies and people who depend upon it.

Finally, in spite of the challenges we face this week, the Kimberley Process is not on the verge of collapse, as some might suggest. Many governments represented here and the representatives of civil society have worked tirelessly to develop this Process and we believe you deserve gratitude and respect. As a result of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, diamonds are today the most monitored and audited of any natural resource in the world, and this system has proven to be an essential and effective tool in combating the scourge of conflict diamonds.

We are, however, at a cross roads in the evolution of the Kimberley Process. If we are to build on its success, we must redouble our efforts, here in Gaborone, to ensure that we have a system that will not yield under the scrutiny of a public that rightly demands not just our best efforts but progress and success. As I said in the beginning, for the international diamond industry and all its dependents around the world, failure is not an option.

Thank you.

(Moscow) – November, 2006

Mr Chairman, distinguished guests.

Thank you for the opportunity to address this esteemed gathering on the important issue of public and private sector partnerships in the fight against terrorism.

The threats to security in today’s world do not respect boundaries.  The events of 9/11 and subsequent outrages have taught us that neither the world’s largest or smallest states can guarantee absolute safety for their citizens.  In addition to the appalling cost in human lives and suffering, it also inflicts damage and widespread disruption on productive, economic activity.

When whole societies and their economies become targets, it is incumbent on all sectors of society to combine their efforts to overcome and prevent such atrocities and that includes the business sector.  Through initiatives such as the Kimberley Process, the private sector has demonstrated its willingness and ability to become an essential player in this respect with great responsibility and potential in the areas of conflict prevention and reconstruction.

I speak with some experience on these important issues.  I have the honor of being the Chairman of the World Diamond Council, also known as the WDC, an organisation that represents the international diamond industry from mining through to retail.  It includes De Beers and Alrosa, both of which have representatives here today.

The WDC was formed to represent the diamond industry in this unique collaboration known as the Kimberley Process, which seeks to eradicate the insidious trade in conflict diamonds and combines the expertise, resources and determination of more than 70 governments, the international diamond industry and non-governmental organisations with a mandate from the United Nations General Assembly.

I bring it to your attention today because I believe that the framework of the Kimberley Process has much to offer as an example of how governments and the private sector can work together effectively to address humanitarian and environmental security problems, particularly in ‘failed states’ and weak government zones.

The World Diamond Council is proud, for example, that the diamond industry has placed its expertise at the disposal of the Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia to provide essential capacity building support as those countries emerge from conflict. Although these and other conflicts in central and West Africa were and remain, quite rightly, a major concern of the international community, it is important that we all remember, that given good governance, natural resources – particularly precious mineral resources such as diamonds – bring great benefits in terms of economy, employment, education and healthcare to a number of the stable democracies in southern Africa and are also mined here in Russia, in Australia and in Canada.  Millions of people around the world depend on diamonds for their livelihoods and over 99% of the world’s diamonds are conflict-free.

Through our experience in the Kimberley Process we have learned that, for these partnerships to be effective, national and international responses to the new security agenda must find the right ways to engage private business as an ally and a partner.

To be viable, any solutions developed must be capable of protecting economies without draining or stifling them in the name of security.

To be legitimate, they must set both business and government activity in the framework of fair and transparent norms.

To succeed, they must take into account the interests of all concerned, respect the fundamental rights of the citizen and avoid the trap of becoming a ‘rich man’s agenda’.

In the strategy paper, circulated prior to this conference, it states that: “Just as governments and businesses co-operate to build prosperity, so they should also combine their efforts to counter terrorism. Such partnerships should be made in a spirit of cooperation and based on the respective roles, responsibilities and interests of the partners”.

Although there is little evidence to suggest that conflict diamonds have funded international terrorism, we acknowledge that diamonds are especially vulnerable to such abuse and regard the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme as our primary safeguard against such activities.

On the subject of partnerships, the Kimberley Process is indeed “a spirit of cooperation and based on the respective roles, responsibilities and interests of the partners”. The combination of interested governments, with the participation of a global industry and civil society, provides ownership and demands responsibility and accountability for each of these sectors.

It also provides the opportunity to address a specific problem that has regional origins, but an international effect.  For example, the problem in the conflict diamonds issue was valuable natural resources being stolen by rebel groups in Angola, Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo to fund their murderous activities and then being sold on to international markets through legitimate, mainstream channels of distribution.

In addition to governments, the diamond industry and the NGOs, the fourth player in this framework is the United Nations.  There is no doubt that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) endorsement of the Kimberley Process provided the validation required to maintain momentum throughout its development and beyond. UNSC Resolutions are also highly significant in setting the parameters for appropriate engagement and investment with integrity in weak government zones.

The United Nations has stated that the Kimberley Process contributed significantly to the reduction in UNITA’s funding in Angola, effectively admitting that the Process succeeded in doing in three years what the United Nations, and the ‘troika’ that comprised the United States, Russia and Portugal, had failed to achieve in a decade. It would be wrong to suggest that the Kimberley Process alone brought peace to Angola or Sierra Leone, but it undeniably helped to establish the conditions in which other forces for a durable settlement could operate more effectively.

In 2003, Kofi Annan said: “It is time for a fundamental reassessment of how the world body works. We are living through a crisis of the international system, and the emergence of new and non-conventional threats forces us to ask whether the institutions and methods to which we are accustomed are really adequate.”

The Kimberley Process is a new methodology and a relatively new institution that has demonstrated an ability to reconcile swiftly differing and occasionally entrenched positions.  The recent Kimberley Process Plenary meeting held in Botswana was an example of this and the benefits of cooperation between the public and private sector.

The 71 governments represented agreed with the WDC and the NGOs that every possible action should be taken to ensure the continuing effectiveness and credibility of the Process. As I said earlier, the Kimberley Process is the primary safeguard of the diamond industry. It is also, I believe, a model for cross-sector collaboration to provide enhanced security to our economies, our business, our communities and our families.

Ladies and gentlemen, the abuse of natural resources enslaves a nation in poverty and instability, and can be a threat to international security.  We in the diamond industry believe that the Kimberley Process offers a viable alternative in providing solutions and is worthy of serious consideration as the international community continues its “fundamental reassessment of how the world body works”.

Thank you.

December 31, 2006

Members of the World Diamond Council

Dear WDC Member,

I am sure you will agree that 2006 has been both challenging and invigorating for all of us in the diamond industry.  It has been the most frenetic year and one in which, I am proud to say, the membership of the World Diamond Council was not found wanting when it came to addressing the demands and concerns of a world that is now focused, as never before, on the activities of the international diamond industry.

Although 2007 will be equally challenging and there remains much to do, I believe that we are now well placed to build on the achievements of this past year.  Together, we have demonstrated that we are sincere in our determination to work with governments, the international community and civil society to strengthen the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the System of Warranties.

Much of the increased media scrutiny we have seen over recent months has of course been inspired by the release of The Blood Diamond.  In 2006, we grasped the opportunity provided by the release of this film to increase awareness throughout the industry regarding the obligation to be Kimberley compliant and articulate the benefits diamonds bring to many in Africa and elsewhere.  The launch of the Education Pack and the diamondfacts.org website at this year’s JCK fair was a great success.  This pack is now available in 13 different languages and the website has so far received more than 100,000 visitors.

The highlight of the year was the successful conclusion of the Kimberley Process Plenary in Gaborone, Botswana.  The lead up to the Plenary was hardly auspicious, with — amongst other things — the three-year review of the Kimberley Process coming to a conclusion, with more than 80 of its recommendations having failed to gain consensus and reports of the smuggling of diamonds into Ghana from Ivory Coast.  The WDC was quick to alert and call upon government members of the Process to take swift and decisive action.  These proactive measures culminated in my address to Plenary, which combined with Partnership Africa Canada’s excellent speech, set the tone of debate for the next three days, during which much progress was made in resolving many of the problems we faced together with governments and the NGOs.

Much of this success was a result of the considerable contribution made by Mr. KG Moshashane as Chair of this year’s Plenary.  His statesman-like leadership and direction of the proceedings was an inspiration to us all.

As I said earlier, there remains much to do and we are determined not to rest on our laurels.  Looking forward to 2007, media scrutiny will continue into the New Year, as The Blood Diamond is released around the world.  The NGOs will continue to challenge and judge us and we must not be found wanting.  We must continue to drive the message home to all our constituents that compliance with the Kimberley Process and the System of Warranties is not optional.  We must also continue to demonstrate that diamonds are a force for good and carry out our business in a way that ensures they are.

We look forward to the European Community (EC) assuming the Chair of the Kimberley Process.  Mr. Karel Kovanda will be heading the EC delegation and having left such a positive impression in Gaborone, I am confident that he will carry on the excellent work of Mr. Moshashane.  Mr. Kovanda will have to deal with many challenges this year, including the review of the situation in Ghana, the resolution of irregularities in South America and recent reports of smuggling in Zimbabwe.

We do not intend to soften our approach in demanding swift and effective action by the Chair and governments on these important issues.  However, we will continue to work closely and productively with the Chair to ensure that the Kimberley Process and the System of Warranties will become evermore robust, and provide the consumer and all who work in the international diamond industry with the assurance and protection they demand and deserve.  We must continue to work together, not just to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds today, but to ensure that diamonds are never again vulnerable to such abuse in the future.

Finally, we must never forget that diamonds are purchased and treasured by consumers because they represent the very highest human values, such as love and commitment.  In addition, we have every reason to be proud that this unique and beautiful product continues to make a unique contribution to the future prosperity of developing countries.  I believe that we are privileged to work with such a product and that it is our responsibility to do all we can to reflect these values, through our actions and the way we conduct our business.

I would like to thank you for your support and hard work over the last 12 months and wish you and your loved ones a peaceful, healthy and prosperous New Year.