Blom Urges KP to Define Systemic Violence

RAPAPORT… The war on conflict diamonds will remain at a standstill
until the industry can agree on what constitutes systemic violence, according to World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) president Ernie Blom.

The lack of agreement on the matter is preventing African
producing nations from accepting a broadened definition of conflict stones, as
they fear it might fuel unfair treatment against them, Blom told Rapaport
News.

Many retailers decide whether to stock goods from
particular countries based on media reports, without checking the facts for
themselves, Blom noted. That sometimes results in companies wrongly boycotting
nations, he argued. Those countries are concerned such a boycott will get worse
if the Kimberley Process (KP) approves the wider definition of conflict
diamonds for which the World Diamond Council (WDC) has been lobbying, Blom
continued. The solution is for the KP to introduce a procedure for determining
whether systemic violence has occurred, he explained.

The WDC, which represents the industry at the KP, wants
to define conflict diamonds as stones “acquired through systemic and widespread
violence, forced labor, the worst forms of child labor, or through violations
of international humanitarian law.” That definition would build on the current wording,
which only refers to rough diamonds used by armed groups to acquire wealth
through illegal actions, and fails to address violence by governments or other
entities.

The group proposed the new definition during the KP’s
two-year review period, which will come to an end at the KP annual plenary meeting in New Delhi, India, in November. 

However, adopting the new definition requires a unanimous
decision by all KP member states, and some are hesitant to do so, Blom
stressed.

The “elephant in the room” is that there are currently no
rules determining what violence qualifies as “systemic” or assessing
objectively whether such incidents have taken place, he added.

“The reason [it has taken so long and there is still no final decision] is
obviously related to a fear within several African diamond-producing countries
that a new rule may affect them,” he explained. “These countries today already
are confronted with decisions of large corporations like Tiffany and Blue Nile…that
they will not purchase any diamonds anymore from certain countries, and this
whilst there is actually no rule which prohibits this.”

Instead, the KP must have parameters that help
distinguish between unconfirmed media reports and verified facts, thereby
encouraging progress in the effort to update the conflict-diamond definition,
Blom stressed.

“If such can be done, I am personally convinced that that will be the way out
for several African diamond-producing countries to agree with the broadening of
the definition,” he concluded.

Image: Ernie Blom. (Laurent Boeki)