Diamonds Are the Heart of the Matter.

International Community Takes a Close Look at Conflict Diamonds

Momentum has been gathering worldwide to globally ban all trade in conflict diamonds. Earlier this year, groundbreaking reports made clear to what extent diamonds--and other "lootable" natural resources--fuel armed conflicts in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone. In these war-torn countries, rebel movements, such as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), as well as a number of neighbouring State actors, have been profiting from the breakdown of government control over the lucrative diamond areas (see UN Chronicle, issue 2, 2000). Since then, the international community's response to the problem has been remarkably swift and unequivocal. Several Security Council resolutions, as well as agreements reached at international conferences, have called for the establishment of a global certification regime for diamonds (see time-line on page 67).

A key event was the Council's first-ever public hearing on the role of diamonds in the Sierra Leonean conflict, held on 31 July and 1 August. The two-day exploratory hearing, chaired by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone, was unique in that presentations were made by representatives of interested States, international and regional organizations, civil society, the diamond industry and independent experts (see Interview, next page). During the hearing, which also focused on the link between the illicit diamond trade and the trade in arms, the United States and the United Kingdom openly accused Burkina Faso and Liberia of supporting the rebels by trading arms for diamonds--both countries vehemently denied the allegations. Further discussed was the development of a sustainable and well-regulated diamond industry, and the Government of Sierra Leone unveiled its diamond certification regime, developed with international assistance. With Council ap proval, the Government on 12 October resumed export of the country's diamonds, which had been suspended since 5 July, following the Council's ban on all imports of uncertified diamonds from Sierra Leone.

Perhaps the important fact that emerged from the Council's hearing, revealing the "complexity and magnitude" of the problem, was that the international community expressed its readiness to participate in a UN-mandated global certification regime. On 21 September, at a high-level meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, Ministers from 20 countries and representatives from the diamond trade agreed to an international certification scheme, the so-called Kimberley process initiative, to trace the origins of all diamonds entering the global market. On 26 October, following a two-day conference on conflict diamonds in London, representatives from 36 Governments agreed to create a worldwide certification plan for diamond exports. Some countries, however, have been pressing further for a United Nations treaty to establish international law regulating the global diamond trade. The various proposals will be forwarded to the United Nations for review by the General Assembly, which has included the matter on the agenda of its current session. The Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution on "the Role of Diamonds in Fuelling Conflicts" on 20 November.

'We Need a Permanent International Panel'

Towards a Global Certification Regime for Diamonds

Following the Security Council's first-ever public hearing on the role of diamonds in fuelling the Sierra Leonean conflict, held on 31 July and 1 August, the UN Chronicle spoke with His Excellency Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations and Chairman of the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone.

You chaired the Security Council's exploratory hearing on the role of diamonds in fuelling the conflict in Sierra Leone.

The experts who were invited to come in and make presentations before the hearing were representing their Governments or themselves as individual experts. Representatives from the diamond industry and from various regional and international organizations, like the Economic Community of West African States and the World Bank, were also invited. We benefited tremendously from the broad spectrum of presentations--the complexity and the magnitude of the whole issue came up very openly. With the knowledge and the information that came out of this hearing, the Sanctions Committee on Sierra Leone can go to work right away. I will submit a report to the Sanctions Committee on the hearing, with my own observations about what we can and should do. Once the Committee approves it, it will go to the Security Council and, as a document of the Council, the report will be available to the general public.

What are your priorities at this point in time?

I believe that for the Sanctions Committee the most immediate concern should be the certification regime for Sierra Leone, as presented by its Government at the hearing. They are anxious to launch it; we are anxious to see it launched. It was apparent that the certification regime takes care of the many loopholes of earlier regimes like that of Angola and other countries. It is now incumbent on the Sanctions Committee to look into it and give it the go-ahead. The Committee should then start working n a number of concrete proposals that the diamond industry had offered, especially the nine-point resolution of the World Diamond Congress of 19 July. We should also look into strengthening the United Nations system regarding how we monitor the sanctions regime in Sierra Leone. The involvement of diamonds in continuing the conflict in Sierra Leone and other countries has so many actors that it is a situation altogether different from those generally handled by the Security Council. We need to set up a better infor mation source--an international database that is available to all actors. I also believe that the involvement of civil society is crucial in the process: in terms of fact-finding, in terms of information-gathering and in terms of awareness-raising. It is very important that all actors are involved effectively. It came out quite clearly at the hearing that Sierra Leone alone, or the Sanctions Committee alone, cannot effectively handle the situation unless the neighbouring countries are involved. We need to involve these countries in honouring the certification regime, not only in Sierra Leone but also in their respective countries. At the end of the day, we should look for a global certification regime. I think that is how we can see an end to conflict diamonds. Diamonds should contribute to the welfare and well-being of the producing countries and their people, and not be used to buy guns for the rebels.

You have just set up a panel of experts to examine the role of diamonds in the Sierra Leonean conflict.

The five-member panel of experts on Sierra Leone is expected to come back with a report by the end of October. The Sanctions Committee will then consider the situation in the country and bring it to the attention of the Security Council. The Council will then act on the recommendations contained in the report. In the process, as was said during the hearing, the Sierra Leone panel should avoid the mistakes or gaps that existed for the Angola panel. One should be particularly aware about the way information is gathered; the other is cross-checking the information obtained. And I believe that the resources available to the earlier panel of experts were not adequate. The question of resources always is a major dilemma, but we hope that we can resolve the problem by involving various actors.

Diamonds are increasingly becoming a global resource and a global problem; a permanent international monitoring mechanism seems necessary.

Yes, you axe very right. We must start thinking about a permanent international panel that would monitor and verify the implementation of the regimes set up in various countries. Until and unless that is done, what will happen is that we will have a kind of a county-focused approach; one for Angola and another for Sierra Leone. But this approach may not work, because then the mechanisms would run into a number of problems, either of a jurisdictional nature, when several countries are involved, or in terms of time-frame because the life of a panel is limited. So if we had a permanent international panel, it could look into the whole question in an integrated manner and within a broader context. I think that is what is needed; and I will be very strongly supportive of such a permanent panel.

We see the use of diamonds in fuelling conflict in many manifestations. It is a very, very sad situation, especially in Africa today, that countries rich with diamonds and other mineral resources continue to face conflicts that cause anguish and deprivation to common and innocent people. It is simply unacceptable; it should not happen in this day and age. These resources should be used for the improvement of the quality of life of the people and not for enabling rebels to continue their armed campaigns.

CONFLICT DIAMONDS -- KEY FACTS

* The global diamond industry was worth US $42 billion in 1998.

* Some 55 per cent of the world's cut diamonds are finished in India.

* Consumers in the United States buy 65 per cent of the world's retail diamonds.

* De Beers--founded in South Africa in 1890--controls 65 per cent of the world's trade in rough diamonds through its London-based Central Selling Organisation. Its own mining operations have accounted for as much as 40 per cent of global production.

* Antwerp, Belgium, is the world's largest trading centre for rough diamonds, with a turnover of around $23 billion per year. In the first quarter of 2000, Belgium imported 308,000 carats, worth an estimated $34 million.

* The estimated scale of diamond smuggling from territories controlled by rebel forces in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranges from 4 to 10-per cent share of world supply.

* Some $3 billion worth of diamonds are estimated to be smuggled into Belgium. Despite UN sanctions, UNITA is still believed to be selling $80-150 million worth of diamonds every year.

* The illicit trade in Sierra Leone is estimated to be worth as much as $70 million per year; nearly 90 per cent of diamonds mined in Sierra Leone are believed to be smuggled out by RUF rebels, mainly via Liberia and Burkina Faso.

* Liberia has a domestic diamond mining capacity of 150,000 carats per year. In 1999, Liberia exported 6 million carats to Belgium alone.

* Since July 2000, prices for diamonds mined in conflict areas have dropped to 30 per cent below those from reputable mines in Australia, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, the Russian Federation and South Africa.

CONFLICT DIAMONDS - KEY EVENTS

12 October 2000 After Security Council approves its diamond certification regime, the Government of Sierra Leone resumes its diamond export, suspended since 5 July, following the Council's ban on all imports of uncertified diamonds from Sierra Leone.

21 September Ministers from 20 countries and representatives from the diamond trade, in a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, agree to an international certification scheme to trace the origins of all diamonds entering the global market. The proposals go to the United Nations for ratification by Member States.

11 September General Assembly includes as an item on the agenda of its 55th regular session "The Role of Diamonds in Fuelling Conflicts".

7 September Newly formed World Diamond Council, chartered by the diamond industry to eradicate the illicit trade in conflict diamonds, holds inaugural meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel.

15 August Secretary-General appoints an expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

1 August Security Council concludes its first-ever public hearing on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict in Sierra Leone. Council appoints an expert panel to investigate arms embargo violations and to explore the illicit trade of Sierra Leonean diamonds for arms by rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

19 July Major representatives of the diamond industry, meeting in Antwerp, Belgium, adopt a resolution cutting off trade from the DRC, Angola and Sierra Leone. It also establishes a World Diamond Council to monitor the industry.

12 July De Beers announces that it is ending its cartel operations.

5 July Security Council passes resolution 1306 (2000) imposing a global ban on the "import of all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone" until the Government of Sierra Leone sets up a certification system and regains control of RUF-held mining areas.

15 June World Bank report, based on 47 civil wars between 1960 and 1999, concludes that greed for natural resources outweighs ideology as a fuel for conflict. It recommends that rebels "be barred from selling ill-gotten commodities on the international market".

18 April Security Council passes resolution 1295 (2000) creating a "monitoring mechanism" composed of five experts to carry out further investigations into breaches of existing sanctions by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

26 March De Beers pledges "rebel-free" diamonds.

15 March Chairman of Angola Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada, presents a report to the Security Council on UNITA diamond smuggling. It implicates Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Togo in the diamonds-for-arms trade.

January 2000 NGO Partnership Africa Canada publishes report on "Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security", highlighting that RUF controls 90 per cent of the diamond areas in Sierra Leone.

7 July 1999 Lome Peace Agreement puts Sierra Leone conflict on hold, granting RUF leader Foday Sankoh immunity from prosecution and control over key diamond production areas.

3 October 1998 NGO Global Witness publishes a report connecting diamond trade with conflicts in Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and starts "Fatal Transactions" international campaign.

12 June 1998 Security Council passes resolution 1173 (1998) widening earlier sanctions against UNITA and imposing a global ban on the import of Angolan diamonds not controlled through governmental mechanisms.

8 October 1997 Security Council passes resolution 1132 (1997) creating a Committee on Sanctions against Sierra Leone, to oversee the arms embargo against all parties to the conflict.

15 Sept. 1993 Security Council passes resolution 864 (1993) creating a Committee on Sanctions against Angola, to oversee an arms and fuel embargo against UNITA.