2007 Conference Topic & Agenda
Conference Topic
Social Responsibility:
-
Africa and the Diamond Industry: What’s really going on and what can we do about it?
Do we really know where our diamonds come from?
-
NGO’s: Friends or Foes? What do they want? Are they right?
Can public advocacy help the people of Africa?
-
Dealing with the ethical consumer: Does she really exist? How and what to sell her?
Is Fair Trade jewelry a viable option?
Agenda:
The four questions on the agenda are designed to encourage consensus on a number of important issues. We do not seek to limit discussion. Delegates and participants are encouraged to raise additional issues as appropriate.
The Diamond Industry & Artisanal Diamonds:
The Four Questions
- Should the diamond industry and consumers buy artisanal diamonds?
- Issues: child labor, unsafe working conditions, environmental damage, smuggling, money laundering, corruption, reputational risk
- Is a Kimberley Process (KP) certificate sufficient basis for the purchase of artisanal diamonds? What are the limits of the KP?
- How bad does the situation have to get in a country before the diamond industry stops buying its diamonds?
- Who draws the line? Who sets the ethical standards? Who enforces or monitors those standards?
- Does the diamond industry need artisanal diamonds?
- What happens to the one million African diggers and their dependents (about another five million people) if the diamond industry stops buying artisanal diamonds?
- What role should consumers and retailers play in helping artisanal diggers?
- What can consumers or jewelers do to help artisanal diggers?
- How do consumer advocacy programs help artisanal diggers?
- Is there a danger that consumers and jewelers will boycott artisanal diamonds as a result of advocacy programs?
- Can the diamond trade deal with artisanal issues without NGO consumer advocacy campaigns? Where does advocacy end and development begin?
- Is it ethical to market Canadian or synthetic diamonds by “educating consumers” about the problems of artisanal diamonds? Is there an inherent conflict of interest when revenue is based on “education”?
- Is charity a solution?
- How can the diamond industry, governments and NGO’s work together to help artisanal diggers?
- Monitoring and auditing of artisanal sources to ensure fair conditions
- Cooperation with governments in source countries
- Establishment of Best Practice Principles for artisanal diamond activities
- Role of private sector
- Job creation through sustainable economic activity
- Level playing field issues
- Infrastructure development
- Charity
- Coordination between industry, governments and NGOs.
- Can Fair Trade diamonds and jewelry programs help artisanal diggers?
- Possible definition of fair trade artisanal diamonds
- Fair compensation to diggers
- 30% of fair market value of diamonds
- fair market value of diamonds establish by public tender
- Donation to the community from where the diamonds originate
- 5% donation above the fair market price of the diamonds
- Do No Harm
- No child labor, unsafe working conditions, environmental damage.
- Monitoring
- Clear standards enforced through monitoring
- What are fair wages? Are diggers being exploited? How and by whom?
- Are fair trade diamonds/jewelry economically viable? At what scale?
- Who is responsible for implementing fair trade standards and products?
- Is it viable for the private sector to replace ineffective government regulators by controlling activity through purchasing power?
- What will happen to diggers whose diamonds are not fair trade?
|
MONDAY
FEBRUARY 5
2007
NEW YORK HILTON
1335 Avenue of the
Americas, New York,
NY 10019
Trianon Ballroom
Third floor
|