GEMOLOGY/GEOLOGY/CONFLICT DIAMONDS

Ukraine accuses Russia of pushing for change to Kimberley Process, amid call for 'conflict diamonds' label

Ukraine has accused Russia of pushing to promote its ally as chair of the Kimberley Process.

 (Reuters: Maxim Shemetov)

Ukraine has accused Moscow of trying to protect Russian gems from being branded "conflict diamonds" by pushing its ally Belarus to the top of an international diamond certification body.

Key points:Ukraine says Russia is protecting its interests by pushing for Belarus to become chairman of the Kimberley Process
That body aims to prevent the flow of diamonds that are used to finance wars against governments
Belarus says it is prepared to uphold the Kimberley Process's "unity and authority"

Some members of the Kimberley Process (KP) — an international scheme implemented in 2003, consisting of a coalition of governments, industry and civil society that certifies diamonds — have called for diamonds from Russia, the world's top producer by volume, to be labelled "conflict diamonds".

Aiming to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, the KP usually makes the declaration about rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments.

These gems are also known as "blood diamonds", a term coined because of the lives lost during such conflicts.

Belarus has applied to be the KP's vice chair in 2023 and chair in 2024, according to a letter dated September 19.

The KP makes decisions by consensus, so the rift over Russia risks paralysing it.

"Russia is pushing Belarus to become chair, so that Russia's interests can be better pursued and protected within the KP," Ukraine's Kimberley Process representative, Vladimir Tatarintsev, said in an email on Tuesday.

Belarus did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Russia has said it condemns attempts to "politicise" the KP.

The KP has the power to ban diamond exports from certain countries, as it did in 2013 when rebels seized power in the Central African Republic.

In its bid, Belarus said it was prepared to uphold the KP's "unity and authority".

Belarus — which has never before been KP chair — supported Russia in quashing a proposal to discuss the invasion of Ukraine at a KP meeting in June.

Chairman Jacob Thamage of Botswana, to whom the bid was addressed, did not respond to a request for comment.

The United Arab Emirates — the world's top rough diamond trading centre — also submitted a written bid for the 2024 chairmanship.

It has not imposed sanctions on Russia, seeking to maintain what it calls a "neutral position" on the war in Ukraine.

Mr Tatarintsev said Ukraine had no objection to UAE's nomination, but added that it was "unlikely that anyone will be able to unite the Kimberley Process".
Current and past conflict diamonds

According to estimates from the KP and the United Nations, the only current case of rebel forces controlling diamond-producing areas is in Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa and that constitutes less than 0.1 per cent of the world's production.

Previously, Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have suffered from conflicts that have been partly funded by diamonds.

The KP allows for the wealth created by diamonds to contribute to peace and prosperity in these countries, rather than conflict.

With 81 member countries, the scheme means that 99.8 per cent of retail diamonds come from conflict-free zones.

In Sierra Leone, legal exports have increased 100-fold since the end of the war in 2002, according to the KP.

Reuters/ABC