The World Diamond Council (WDC) has released the draft of the proposed revisions in its System of Warranties (SoW) for public review, following the completion of an industry review, and prior to its planned implementation from 2019, the organisation said in a release yesterday. The period of public review ends on October 1, 2018.
The SoW review and reform process is part of the WDC Strategic Plan and is intended to help industry participants better implement and demonstrate commitment to responsible business conduct when buying or selling rough and polished diamonds, WDC added.
The proposed changes in the document, WDC said, will help to establish a new level of adherence for members and will call on users of SoW statements to ensure their trading activities maintain strict adherence to universally accepted principles on human and labour rights, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering in support of the obligatory Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) implementation.
Acting President of the WDC, Stephane Fischler, said “Maintaining the integrity of the legitimate diamond supply chain requires constant vigilance and an ongoing progression of policies and practices to ensure that we address the modern challenges facing our industry, today and tomorrow.”
Stating that the “definition of conflict diamonds as those used to fund rebel movements has provided the necessary focus to drive important change”, he pointed out that the nature of what constitutes conflict has evolved.
Elaborating, Fischler said, “These SoW reforms reflect our commitment to uphold the duty of care owed to diamond communities by helping ensure safe and secure working conditions, fair labour practices and sustainable development. It also serves as our promise to consumers that they can trust the diamonds they purchase to have been sourced responsibly and ethically.”
The WDC SoW was created in 2000 as part of industry self-regulation, and extends the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) by providing added assurances against conflict diamonds entering the legitimate supply chain. The KPCS safeguards the shipment of rough diamonds and certifies them as conflict-free. The WDC SoW takes this forward, requiring all diamond suppliers and diamond jewellery manufacturers to pass on a conflict free warranty statement each time diamond goods (rough or polished) change hands, assuring the next buyer that the diamonds originated within the Kimberley Process system.
News Source : gjepc.org
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