Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

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The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is a process designed to certify the origin of diamonds from sources which are free of conflict.^[1] The process was established in 2003 to prevent rebel groups and their rivals from financing their war aims from diamond sales. The certification scheme aims at preventing these "blood diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. It was set up to try to assure consumers that by purchasing diamonds they were not financing war and human rights abuses.

The KPCS originated from a meeting of Southern African diamond producing states in Kimberley, South Africa in May 2000. In order for a country to be a participant, it must ensure

that any diamond originating from the country does not finance a rebel group or other entity seeking to overthrow a UN-recognized government.
that every diamond export be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate proving (1).
that no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member of the scheme.

This three-step plan is a simple description of the steps taken to ensure a "chain" of countries that deal exclusively with non-conflict diamonds. Details can be found in the official KPCS document linked in the external links section below.

The KPCS is essentially self-enforced. Supervision of the Process is done by the Chair, elected on an annual basis at a plenary meeting. A Working Group on Monitoring monitors each participant to ensure that it is implementing the scheme correctly. The Working Group reports to the Chair. Other working groups include the Technical Working Group (or Working Group of Diamond Experts) which reports on difficulties in implementation and proposed solutions, and the Statistics Working Group, which reports diamond trading data. The Participation Committee reports to the Chair on its recommendations on proposed members hoping to join the KPCS. The Selection Committee reports on its recommendations on who should be the next Vice-Chair. After a year of being Vice-Chair, the successful candidate becomes the Chair.

In 2004, Congo (Brazzaville) was removed from the scheme because it was found unable to prove the origin of its gems. For countries economically dependent on diamond exports, this can be a substantial punishment, as it disallows trade with much of the rest of the world.

Whilst the Process has been broadly welcomed by groups aiming to improve human rights in countries previously affected by conflict diamonds, such as Angola, some say it does not go far enough. For instance, Amnesty International says "[We] welcome the Kimberley Process as an important step to dealing with the problem of conflict diamonds. But until the diamond trade is subject to mandatory, impartial monitoring, there is still no effective guarantee that all conflict diamonds will be identified and removed from the market." Canadian aid group One Sky (funded in part by the Canadian government) concurs with Amnesty's view saying "If effectively implemented, the Kimberley Process will ensure that diamonds cannot be used to finance war and atrocities...However, without a system of expert, independent and periodic reviews of all countries, the overall process remains open to abuse." An example of abuse would be smuggling conflict diamonds into a certified facility or country. The German group medico international started together with other European NGOs the campaign Fatal Transactions on the financing of African conflicts through diamonds.

Another form of criticism is whether the Kimberley process is realistically enforceable. There are many factors that can jeopardize the "Officialdom of certificates and paperwork" ^[2] from lack of enforcement on the ground to the secrecy in the diamond trading centers such as Antwerp.