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Abstract
Through a series of meetings and consultations over the past four years—known as the Kimberley Process—representatives from government, civil society and the diamond industry have devised a regulatory framework that aims to end the trade in conflict diamonds. This article assesses the accomplishments and challenges associated with the regulatory framework ranging from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) on the production and export of diamonds to the ‘chain of warranties’ upheld by diamond wholesalers and retailers. By tracing the evolution of conflict diamonds as a pressing human security concern in international politics, we demonstrate that the ongoing Kimberley Process represents an intriguing development in global governance and multi‐track diplomacy.
Notes
Correspondence Address: J. Andrew Grant, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H6. Email: [email protected].
Quoted in ‘UN seeks halt to smuggling of “conflict diamonds” ’, InterPress Service, 2 August 2000.
In October 2000 a separate ‘diamond summit’ took place in London, although non‐state participants had a small rôle in comparison to the state representatives that were present. The momentum behind the alternate ‘London Process’ quickly faded as it became clear that NGOs and industry required an equal voice with state actors in order for a global regulatory scheme on diamonds to succeed.
Parts of the following two sections draw from Taylor and Mokhawa (Citation2003).
See, for example, M. Kaldor, ‘A decade of humanitarian intervention: the role of global civil society’, in H. Anheier, M. Glasius and M. Kaldor (Eds), Global Civil Society 2001, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 140; C. McGreal, ‘Sierra Leone peace force accused of sabotage’, The Guardian (online edition), 9 September 2000; and L. Gberie, War and Peace in Sierra Leone: Diamonds, Corruption and the Lebanese Connection, Ottawa: Partnership Africa Canada, 2002.
Action for Southern Africa, Waiting on Empty Promises: The Human Cost of International Inaction on Angola Sanctions, London: Action for Southern Africa, 2000. See also A. Malaquias, ‘Diamonds are a guerrilla’s best friend: the impact of illicit wealth on insurgency strategy', Third World Quarterly, 22 (3), 2001, pp. 320–321.
The Washington Post, 2 November 2001. See also Global Witness, For a Few Dollars More: How al Qaeda Moved into the Diamond Trade, London: Global Witness, 2003, especially pp. 39‐65.
The Central Selling Organisation (CSO) is now known as the Diamond Trading Company (DTC).
‘The Role of Diamonds in Fuelling Conflict’, Draft Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 28 November 2000, New York: United Nations, 2000.
Global Witness, ‘Conflict diamonds: summary of the conflict diamond campaign’, at http://www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/diamonds/index.php.
Information provided to one of the authors by an ex‐De Beers buying agent now living in Botswana who had previously operated in the Republic of Congo (ROC).
Report of the Panel of Experts on Violations of Security Council Sanctions Against UNITA, 10 March 2000, New York: United Nations, 2000.
World Vision, ‘Dying for a diamond?’, 10 October 2001, available at: http://www.wvi.org/wvi/home.htm.
The Guardian, 7 June 2000.
H. Burkhalter of Physicians for Human Rights, quoted in ‘Diamond trade’s tragic flaw', The Washington Post, 29 April 2001.
Campaign to Eliminate Conflict Diamonds, ‘Jewellers for clean diamond imports’, at http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/sierra_leone/jewel_bullets.html.
The Namibian (Windhoek), 8 October 1999.
Quoted in N. D. Innocenti, ‘54 countries pass “conflict diamonds” test’, Financial Times, 31 July 2003.
‘Joint Resolution, World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and International Diamond Manufacturers Association’, Antwerp, 19 July 2000.
Botswana Gazette (Gaborone), 5 December 2001.
Adapted from ‘Kimberley Process requirements for participation’, accessible at http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/news/info.asp.
Author's interview with a South African government official involved in the Kimberley Process, Pretoria, South Africa, 27 June 2003.
‘Final Communiqué’, Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting, Sun City, South Africa, 31 October 2003.
‘Diamond origin “can be determined” ’, BBC News (online edition), 25 July 2003.
‘Conflict diamonds “still on sale” ’, BBC News (online edition), 30 March 2004.
The Canadian diamond industry is clearly trying to establish a ‘brand’ of conflict‐free diamonds, which it hopes will appeal to consumers. A Canadian‐based firm, Igloo Diamonds, sells Canadian diamonds online. See http://www.diamonds.ca. Canadian ‘Arctic’ diamonds, mined under the authority of the Canadian sub‐national government of the Northwest Territories, authorizes diamond wholesaler companies and jewellers to sell its diamonds. See http://www.canadianarcticdiamond.com. Many of these firms claim to employ Canadians, particularly Aboriginal Canadians, in the mining and polishing processes.
Washington Post, op. cit., Ref. 6.