Boucher Comments on Pretoria Meeting on Conflict Diamonds
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
September 21, 2000
STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN
Conference in South Africa on Conflict Diamonds
On September 21, 2000, the South African government hosted a meeting
in Pretoria to address the problem of conflict diamonds. In the
culmination of the "Kimberley Process," representatives of industry,
civil society and diamond producing, manufacturing and consuming
countries met to consider next steps in the international effort to
break the link between the illicit trade in rough diamonds and armed
conflict. Participants endorsed a statement calling for an
inter-governmental process to design a workable international
certification system for rough diamonds.
The United States has been an active participant in this process since
its inception. From the outset, the U.S. foreign policy goal has been
to prevent rebel groups from financing armed conflict through the sale
of rough diamonds, while ensuring that no harm is done to the
legitimate diamond industry. The United States, as the largest
consumer of diamonds in the world, and the home of a substantial
trading center, believes that the problem of conflict diamonds can
only be solved through the engagement of all countries that trade in
diamonds. The U.S. is very pleased with the broad participation at the
Pretoria meeting and the commitment to move rapidly to a multilateral
forum. Participants affirmed their readiness to co-sponsor a
resolution this fall in the UN General Assembly.
We welcome the outcome of this meeting as an important milestone in
the effort to develop a viable and effective solution to the problem
of conflict diamonds. The U.S. is committed to maintaining the
momentum of this process as it moves forward.
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