The KimCor group of companies producing rough diamonds are all currently located in South Africa. South Africa is one of the founding members of the the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme aimed at ensuring that:
- 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) above.
- That no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member of the scheme.
Rough diamond sales made by the KimCor Group are arranged through a public tender process arranged and organised by the registered licensed diamond marketing boards in both Johannesburg and Kimberley. The Boards do not export rough diamonds to States that are not signed up members of the Process and every sale is accompanied by a certificate.
In addition, KimCor is a shareholder in Anmic, a cutting and polishing business based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Any cut and polished stones generated by Anmic for sale are only sold to registered licensed buyers resident in States signed up to the Process and every individual cut and polished stone is supported by a unique certificate - passport confirming the origin of the stone.
Overview of the Kimberley Process
A conflict diamond (also called a blood diamond or a war diamond) is a diamond mined in a war zone and sold, usually clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading army's war efforts. The trade in these illicit stones has contributed to devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.
The Kimberley Process is a joint government, international diamond industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is an innovative, voluntary system that imposes extensive requirements on Participants to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from conflict diamonds, and is designed to prevent conflict diamonds entering the mainstream rough diamond market. The Kimberley Process is composed of 45 Participants, including the European Union. Kimberley Process Participants account for approximately 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds. The scheme was set up to try to assure consumers that by purchasing diamonds they were not financing war and human rights abuses.
The scheme originated from a meeting of South African diamond producing states in Kimberley in May 2000. In December of 2000 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution calling for the creation of a scheme that would allow certification of diamonds that had not been sold in order to finance civil war. The KPCS was finally agreed upon by nations involved in the trade of diamond and diamond-mining and production companies, notably De Beers and the World Diamond Council, in November 2002.
In order for a country to be a participant in the scheme, 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) above.
- That no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member of the scheme.
This is a simple description of the three steps taken to ensure a "chain" of countries that deal exclusively with non-conflict diamonds. Further details of the scheme can be found on the official KPCS website (www.kimberleyprocess.com)
The KPCS imposes stringent requirements on all Participants to guard against conflict diamonds entering the legitimate trade. Participants are required to implement internal controls, as outlined in the KPCS document, and all shipments of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate. The requirements for participation are outlined in Sections II, V (a) and VI (8,9) of the KPCS. Participants can only trade with other Participants who have met the minimum requirements of the certification scheme.
The scheme is essentially self-enforced. Supervision of the Kimberley Process is done by the Chair, elected on an annual basis at a plenary meeting (Botswana for 2006). 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 implementing the scheme and proposed solutions, and the Statistics Working Group, which reports diamond trading data. The Participation Committee (Russian Federation for 2006) reports to the Chair on its recommendations on proposed members hoping to join the scheme. The Selection Committee reports on its recommendations on who should be the next Vice-Chair (European Union for 2006). 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.
Nations participating in the scheme
- Angola
- Armenia
- Australia
- Belarus
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- People's Republic of China
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- The 25 member states of the European Union
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guyana
- India
- Israel
- Japan
- Republic of Korea
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Namibia
- Norway
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Singapore
- Sierra Leone
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Switzerland
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United States of America
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Zimbabwe
NOTE: The rough diamond-trading entity of Chinese Taipei has also met the minimum requirements of the KPCS.