Mr. Fischler also reported that the WDC has contributed to the discussion about the creation of a Multi-Donor Fund that will be established to finance the participation in the KP forum of countries with limited capacity, as well as members of the Civil Society Coalition, and supports an improved Peer-Review Mechanism.
The AGM discussed the ongoing situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), which is the only country today from which the KP has ruled that conflict diamonds are being traded.
In 2015, after an absence, the CAR was readmitted into the KPCS within a special operational framework that was created to ensure the strict traceability of goods, which only can be sourced from especially approved “green” mining zones. As part of the process, the KP set up a Monitoring Team that is currently chaired by the United States, and includes representatives from relevant working groups, civil society and the WDC.
During the AGM, notification was received from the CAR government that it was planning an overhaul of its alluvial diamond mining sector, which will include the introduction of a regime based on OECD due diligence principles. Responding to the announcement, Mr. Fischler said that the WDC would encourage such a program, but he stressed that all members and companies from the industry must still remain on the alert and conduct their own due diligence to ensure that any CAR-sourced rough diamonds they purchase are KP-compliant. He also called on the countries neighboring the CAR and those that are home to trading centers to practice enhanced vigilance, to prevent conflict diamonds from accessing their territories.
Mr. Fischler noted the contribution to two WDC officers, Peter Karakchiev and Mark van Bockstael, the current of former chairs of the KP’s Working Group of Diamond Experts, who successfully petitioned the World Customs Organization to introduce a new international six-digit code into its HS system, which relating specifically to “synthetic diamond, unworked or simply sawn or roughly shaped.” Until now, rough man-made diamonds have been grouped together with all other synthetic stones.
During his speech to the industry dinner that closed out 2019 AGM, Mr. Fischler paid special tribute to Marie-Chantal Kaninda, WDC’s outgoing Executive Director. “
Through her personality, history and understanding, she has instilled within us a sensibility and broader perception of our industry that will remain long after her departure. We wish her the very best of luck,” he said.
Concluding his address to the guests at the gala dinner, Mr. Fischler pointed out that 95 percent of rough diamonds in terms of value are mined by a handful of larger, industrialized companies, which over the years have delivered transformative change in the countries where they operate. The remaining 5 percent are produced by artisanal miners. These are considered to be at higher risk, and thus command most of the attention of the KP and the WDC.
“We are an industry that understands that when we are talking about 5 percent of total value, we are not simply referring to dollars and cents,” Mr. Fischler said. “We are referring to diamonds whose derived revenue might potentially make a massive impact on the lives of people in the countries where they are sourced.”
“This is the industry of which I have been a part of for more than 40 years, and a community of women and men of whom I am incredibly proud,” he said.