Zimbabwe has escaped a ban of its diamond trade after members of an international body responsible for stemming the flow of conflict diamonds resolved to give the southern African country more time to reform its suspect mining practices.
The annual meeting of the 70-member Kimberley Process held in the Namibia’s coastal town of Swakopmund rejected the advice by a team of its investigators who had recommended that Zimbabwe be banned for six-months from trading in diamonds until the country improves controls at its controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields along the border with Mozambique.
The KP meeting instead adopted a plan proposed by Zimbabwe itself under which it would engage an independent inspector to monitor diamonds leaving the diamond fields.
The KP has in recent weeks come under pressure to impose an international ban on Zimbabwe diamonds after a team of investigators from the diamond watchdog unearthed rights abuses and other irregularities at the diamond field.
The KP review mission that visited Zimbabwe at the end of June said in a report that Zimbabwean security forces and other government entities had taken part in extra-judicial violent attacks on illegal diamond miners and smuggling of the precious stones from Marange.
The mission called for a temporary ban of six months or more to allow Zimbabwe time to comply with KP standards.
It also said that, should the southern African nation volunteer to stop selling diamonds, the KP should monitor the “self-suspension” to ensure Harare implements all necessary measures to comply with required standards before it can resume trade in diamonds.
Source African Press Agency
