World Diamond Council
International Headquarters: 52 Vanderbilt Avenue / 19th Floor / New York, NY 10017 / USA
Eli Izhakoff, Chairman / 580 Fifth Avenue / New York, NY 10036 / USA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
For more information, contact Matthew Runci, 800-223-0673 646-658-0246 |
The guide, intended for worldwide
use by anyone who trades in rough or polished diamonds, is available for
immediate download from the WDC website,
www.worlddiamondcouncil.org. In
addition, the guide is being distributed to members of the World Federation of Diamond
Bourses, the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, and CIBJO – The
International Jewellery Confederation, by those organizations.
The guide
outlines the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which was adopted in
November 2002 by governments of all of the world’s diamond mining,
manufacturing, importing and exporting nations. The guide also describes the diamond industry’s self-regulation
through its voluntary System of Warranties, designed to strengthen the
Kimberley Process agreement.
The guide
contains step-by-step compliance checklists for companies throughout the
diamond supply chain, to include mining companies and rough diamond buyers in
source countries, rough diamond importers, exporters, manufacturers, and
dealers, and polished diamond dealers, jewelry manufacturers, and diamond
jewelry retailers.
In
addition to the general requirements of the Kimberley Process, there are
individual national laws and regulations that the guide does not address. Companies should therefore also consult with
their national trade associations for guidance on complying with various
national laws and regulations.
For jewelry retailers in the
United States, detailed guidance on supporting the Kimberley Process system is
available on the Jewelers of America website,
www.jewelers.org.
To access the new WDC guide, visit
www.worlddiamondcouncil.org, and click on “K.P. Guide.” For those without access to the Internet,
printed copies are available from the New York Diamond Dealers Club, the
Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association, the Jewelers Vigilance
Committee, and Jewelers of America.
WDC GUIDE TO
KIMBERLEY PROCESS AVAILABLE ONLINE
As
implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme moves forward, the
World Diamond Council (WDC) has published The Essential Guide to
Implementing the Kimberley Process, outlining steps that firms in the
diamond industry must take to ensure implementation of the new system designed
to eliminate the flow of conflict diamonds.
The guide was produced for the WDC on behalf of the World Federation of
Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers’ Association
(IDMA) by the J. Walter Thompson Agency.
The World Diamond Council was founded in 2000 by the diamond and jewelry
industry amid growing concern over human rights violations and
atrocities committed against innocent victims in diamond producing
countries of war-torn northern Africa. The goal of the WDC is to
prevent the exploitation of diamonds for illicit purposes such as war
and inhumane acts.
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