India to bid for vice-chair of Kimberley Process next year

In an attempt to have a major say in the global diamond industry, India will bid for the post of the vice-chair of Kimberley Process next year. If India succeeds, as per the rule of the Process, it will automatically occupy the position of the chair of the Process after a year, which is in 2008 according to reports in the financial express.

The participants of the Process account for about 99.8% of the world�s rough diamond production. The Process is a major initiative by the civil society, the global diamond industry and governments to curtail the flow of �conflict diamonds� or �blood diamonds.� These are rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments and in the process carry out human rights abuses.

The chair supervises the implementation of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), the operations of the working groups and committees, and the general administration of the Process. The rotating post of the vice-chair of the Process is chosen by its plenary. The chair is also elected every year at the plenary meeting.

The KPCS requires all the 45 members, including the European community, to certify that rough diamond shipments are free from �conflict diamonds.� The self-enforced scheme also asks countries to make sure that they do not involve in diamond trade with non-members.