Africa's conflict diamonds: Fair trade stones on the horizon?

Africa's conflict diamonds: Fair trade stones on the horizon?

by Zara Maung, Ethical Corporation, London

21st June 2006

A new leader in the fight against conflict diamonds has some big plans.

Tales of brutal civil wars funded by illegal or "conflict" diamonds have become increasingly common in the western media in recent years.

Large jewellery retailers and big mining firms are concerned about their reputations and public confidence in jewellery as a whole.

In Africa the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was established in 2003 to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds.

The Kimberly Process requires diamonds to be traceable back to their place of origin, in an attempt to bring transparency to what some NGOs have painted as a brutal business.

NGO reports, including an independent commissioned review published in April 2006, have criticized the lack of third party monitoring and transparency of the process.

New leadership

Now Michael Rae, the new CEO of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices (CRJP), set up in 2005, intends to change things. Members include mining giant DeBeers, traders Rosy Blue NV and retailers Tiffany & Co.

Rae has spent the past ten years working for WWF on improving performance standards in mining.

"This is a hugely ambitious project," Rae says. "We are aiming to set up a standard that denotes ethical behaviour at every level of the supply chain."

In terms of the Kimberley Process now, he says: "Independent third party monitors will be employed to ensure our members are applying the process."

Artisan diggers mine 90% of Sierra Leone's diamonds, as is the case in the Republic of Congo. Smaller firms are largely missing from the initiative, and these, say campaigners, are often the problem.

Global Witness says that big firms have little to do with conflict diamonds, which are often untraceable and from artisan diggers.

These are more likely to be handled by smaller dealers, traders and exporters, Global Witness says, concluding that: "It is imperative that the smaller companies are brought into the fold." Already though, there is opposition from trade bodies representing these smaller firms.

Global Witness's Harrison Mitchell suggests that one step further should be made, with "fair trade" diamonds being established for artisan diggers.

Rae suggests group certification in the style of the Forest Stewardship Council whereby the auditing cost in receiving an ethical stamp of approval could be shared between local companies.

CRJP members are currently in talks with stakeholders and NGOs and hope to finalise the ethical standard by early 2008. Then comes the hard bit - implementing it.

Useful links:
http://www.responsiblejewellery.com/
http://www.globalwitness.org/
www.kimberleyprocess.com:8080/site