not a coincidence that the first time usa is chairing committee & meeting in usa, they're trying to change the rules...

Zimbabwe: Fresh Bid to Redefine Conflict Diamonds

BY BREZHNEV MALABA, 5 JUNE 2012

Washington DC — THE four-day Kimberley Process Certification Scheme inter-sessional meeting was officially opened yesterday amid calls for unity among member countries.

Delegates braced for heated discussions on a controversial proposal by a Western-led coalition to push for the redefinition of conflict diamonds.

In her speech, KPCS chair Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, from the US, said the diamond watchdog must reform or lose credibility.

She outlined the US government's position on the need to redefine "conflict diamonds", saying that broadening the scope of the human rights discourse would enable the KPCS "to do a better job of monitoring its members and implementing the agreed rules."

Ambassador Milovanovic sought to placate African members of the KPCS by assuring the meeting that there was nothing sinister in the US campaign to push for the redefinition of conflict diamonds.

"We hope the inter-sessional will be a platform for the exchange of ideas, keeping the KP strong and making it better than ever," she said.

"None of us has a monopoly on ideas, but each one of us has a contribution to make."

The US diplomat set the stage for a bruising fight when she urged KPCS members to embrace calls for the redefinition of conflict diamonds.

"Fundamentally, we believe a carefully re-worded, redefinition will keep the KP relevant in future," she said.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is a joint initiative that brings governments, industry and civil society together to stem the flow of rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments.

The US and other Western countries now want the scope of conflict diamonds to be extended to encompass any "diamond-related violence".

Analysts say the redefinition could be open to abuse by powerful nations.

African and Asian members of the KPCS have vowed to resist the US-led calls for the inclusion of "human rights" in the definition of conflict diamonds.

They view the Western campaign with suspicion, saying it is part of a plot by powerful nations to bully smaller countries that have resisted domination.

Addressing the same meeting, South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources, Ms Susan Shabangu, urged KPCS members to exercise caution when discussing proposals for the re-definition of conflict diamonds.

She said if the matter was badly handled, it would divide members and sow disunity, much to the detriment of the organisation and the "millions of people who rely on diamond revenue".

Ms Shabangu said it was through "the spirit of Ubuntu" that countries such as Zimbabwe were now able to benefit from the diamond sector, which created "a springboard for economic growth and development".

The president of the World Diamond Council, Mr Eli Izhakoff, supported calls for the redefinition of conflict diamonds, but urged KPCS members to preserve unity and justice.

Drawing inspiration from American civil rights legend Dr Martin Luther King Jnr who delivered his famous "I have a Dream" speech here in 1963, Mr Izhakoff said all members of the KPCS were entitled to liberty.

"Dr King understood intuitively a truth that some of us in the diamond sector have known all along, that we are mutually dependent as members of the Kimberley Process," he said.

The Civil Society Coalition also voiced support for calls for the re-definition of conflict diamonds.

Today members of the KPCS will break into groups to discuss reports tabled by the Working Committees on reform, statistics and monitoring.

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