Johannesburg: The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC), which acts as an observer of the Kimberley Process on behalf of civil society, has demanded action from members of the diamond mining and jewellery industries to stop the ‘ongoing flow of conflict diamonds’.
It said following a webinar held on 20 October that there are four key actions the industry can take to halt the flow of ‘conflict diamonds’.

“Abandon conflict-free marketing claims: As there exists today no standardised, testable system guaranteeing that any diamond is free of conflict, conflict-free assurances constitute consumer deception,” it said.

“Stop talking about diamond-affected communities without actually talking with them: Companies should honestly, transparently and without manipulation engage diamond-affected communities, and not just hand-chosen examples, in particular when publicly discussing or making statements about their well-being.

“Implement due diligence on diamond supply chains:  Given the challenges of ensuring traceability of diamonds it is all the more important to improve, and independently audit, social, environmental and human rights standards at the mining level…

“Stop representing standards created by industry associations, such as the World Diamond Council’s revised System of Warranties (SoW) Guidelines, as proof of ethical diamond origin or actual human rights due diligence…”

KP, which was established in 2003, claims that its participants actively prevent 99.8% of conflict diamonds from the global supply chain.