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Diamond industry's move on "conflict" stones welcomed at UN
21 July -- The United Nations Security Council today expressed its appreciation to diamond industry leaders for their prompt reaction to its proposals on curbing illicit trade in precious stones used to finance armed conflict, according to the Council President, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica.

Ambassador Durrant was speaking to the press after the Security Council met in closed-door consultations to hear a briefing by the chairman of the Council's sanctions committee on Angola, Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada, who had just returned from the World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, Belgium. During the three-day Congress, the leaders of the world's two main diamond trading associations -- the International Diamonds Manufacturers Association and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses - passed a resolution establishing a system of certificates intended to prove the origin of the diamonds.

That move by the diamond industry was described as "absolutely remarkable" by Ambassador Fowler. He told a news conference at UN Headquarters today that the Antwerp Congress answered the question he had posed to diamond industry leaders one year earlier: Do you intend to be part of the problem or part of the solution? "Candidly, I never would have expected this a year ago," Mr. Fowler said, adding that he was "extremely happy" about the resolution.

The so called "conflict diamonds" -- also known as "dirty" and "blood" diamonds -- represented a very small, but very vital part of the international diamond industry, Mr. Fowler said, adding that certain far-sighted elements within the industry had understood the potential damage that the issue could do to the entire industry.

According to the main provisions of the Congress' resolution, Mr. Fowler said, each rough diamond importing country would have to enact legislation requiring that imported parcels of rough diamonds be sealed and registered in an universally standardized measure by an accredited export authority. The resolution also called on each exporting country to establish diamond boards responsible for the sealing of those packages and registering them in an international database. Ambassador Fowler noted that it might be possible for the UN to play some role in that process.

The momentum for the World Diamond Congress to adopt the resolution had originated both within the industry and outside of it, particularly from non-governmental organizations and the United Nations, Ambassador Fowler said, adding that although it had come from slightly different directions, it was to achieve the same goal.