Kimberley Process (KP) is facing renewed calls to act over ongoing wars in Ukraine and Central African Republic (CAR) at its five-day intersessional meeting that opens today (13 May) in Dubai.
KP Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC,) the observer-only group of mostly African diamond-producing countries, walked out of the last KP plenary, in Zimbabwe last November, after delegates failed to reach agreement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It said in a statement that KP was “paralyzed” and had showed time again that it was “unable to address, or even only discuss, challenges at the core of its mandate”.
The UAE, now chairing KP for the second time, has promised “a year of delivery”, but KPSCS remains sceptical.
“This KP meeting should be a forum to evaluate the state of diamond governance, assess whether conflict diamonds are effectively banned from international trade, and give a final push to the ongoing and much-needed KP reform cycle,” it said in a statement.
“The KPCSC fervently hopes that the current crisis of the diamond trade will open more eyes to the urgency of expanding the long-outdated definition of conflict diamonds.
“Civil society expresses deep concern over the KP’s failure to seriously assess its role in exacerbating or alleviating ongoing conflicts, in particular, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the enduring conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR).”
KP says on its website that the UAE is “leading efforts to modernise, reform, and strengthen the KP under the ‘Year of Delivery’ programmme,” aiming to ensure its continued operation and pivotal role in facilitating global trade in conflict-free diamonds.
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