The Kimberley Process By Allison Ryan At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (abbreviated as the KPCS) is an effort by the United Nations as well as government, social, and industrial process to stop the practice of mining and selling conflict diamonds (also referred to as blood diamonds). Conflict diamonds come from areas ruled by warlords or rebel forces. The mines are controlled by people who practice terrorism and slavery in order to subdue nearby villagers and their families.

They use the sales of the diamonds that they mine in order to fund illicit activities, mostly to buy supplies and arms for their troops. Conflict diamonds have fuelled and prolonged the violence in many war ravaged countries. Once cut and polished, it is impossible to tell the origin of a diamond. The Kimberley Process specifically addresses rough diamonds. The countries involved in the KPCS have stemmed the percentage of blood diamonds on the market from 15% in 1990 to 1% in the present day.

Instead of the diamonds supporting criminals, they help the local economy of the area that provides them, allowing developing countries to stabilize and thrive. The Kimberley Process can be adopted by any country that is willing to meet its requirements. Seventy-five countries are represented by its forty nine members, which take turns chairing. They are certified to certify a non conflict diamond. These countries must be completely transparent in their diamond shipping information.

They must also control their imports, exports, and the internal going-on of the diamond industry in their country, as specified by the KPCS agreement. The participants of the KPCS must recognize that blood diamonds are a serious national issue. The sales of blood diamonds are directly linked to armed conflicts, rebel groups attempting to overthrow governments that are internationally recognized as legitimate, and the black market weapon trade.

In addition, the people in countries that export blood diamonds are systematically oppressed, killed, and tortured. Blood diamonds also have a catastrophic effect on the economy of developing states. Shipments of non conflict diamonds are always accompanied with Kimberley Process Certificates, which are much different than GIA or IGI appraisals. The Kimberley Process does not judge the quality of the jewels, but rather affirms the origin.

In addition to the certificate, a receipt is sent to an exporting authority, detailing the number of parcels involved in the shipment, the carat weight of the diamonds, and information regarding both the importer and the exporter. This is to ensure that Kimberley Process Certificates are not faked, though shipments of conflict diamonds do occasionally slip through. These diamonds are also transported entirely in containers that are resistant to tampering and not easily opened.

All members of the KPCS confer with each other on a regular basis, passing on information about anything odd that happens during the shipping process. They also exchange statistical information and help the other countries with any other issues relevant to conflict diamonds. They are not required to provide any information regarding the quality of the diamonds, even if they have the potential to become EGL loose diamonds. There are several other laboratories and organizations dedicated to this cause.

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