Real Care Is Rare

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Real Care Is Rare REAL CARE IS RARE An on-the-ground perspective on blood diamonds and the fifth ‘C’ KIMBERLEY PROCESS CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION Real Care is Rare September 2019 Author: Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition Front Cover: SAKADO D/2019/4320/13 KIMBERLEY PROCESS CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION CONTENTS ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................8 HOW BRIGHT IS YOUR DIAMOND? ...........................................................................................................9 The need to catch up with modern understandings of “conflict diamond” .................................. 10 The “blood diamond” saga continues: human rights abuse by private security guards.............. 13 Undermining development diamonds ..................................................................................................... 15 “C” for caring collaboration: the need for a sector-wide approach ................................................... 17 “C” for competitive advantage ................................................................................................................. 17 “C” for consumer confidence ................................................................................................................... 18 “C” for choking point ................................................................................................................................... 19 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................. 20 ANNEX I: KPCSC Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 21 ANNEX II: Company responses to issues raised in this report .......................................................... 22 ENDNOTES ...................................................................................................................................................... 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................. 30 3 Who is the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition? The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition is a coalition of NGOs united in raising the voices and visibility of communities affected by diamond mining and in seeking to align the diamond sector with standards of good governance and responsible corporate conduct. The KP CSC is the civil society observer to the Kimberley Process, and therefore constitutes the mechanism’s third institutional pillar. Most KP CSC members come from Africa, the world’s principle diamond producing continent. They include representatives from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. This gives the KP CSC insight into some of the multiple contexts in which diamonds are mined. The KP CSC also has one trading center-based member – a Belgian research institute focused on conflict and resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. The KP CSC works both within and outside the Kimberley Process to raise difficult issues affecting the diamond sector. For more about the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition please visit: https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/civil-society-coalition What is the Kimberley Process? The Kimberley Process (KP) is an international mechanism intended to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds onto the global market through the implementation of an import/export certification scheme applicable to rough diamonds. Established in 2003, the KP meets twice a year and brings together 82 participating member states. KP membership requires states to meet certain basic requirements regarding rough diamond handling. The KP is a tripartite system that includes civil society and industry as observers to the process, which is implemented by participating governments. Vehement calls for KP reform have been ongoing for a decade. They are the result of serious failings in the KP’s scope and efficacy, which have long been decried by civil society and certain industry actors, as well as intergovernmental organisations. Chairmanship of the KP for 2019 is held by India, who is responsible for overseeing the progress of both the scheme’s work and its ability to reform. This year marks the last year of a three-year KP Reform cycle. 4 ACRONYMS AFECC – Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Company AMDC – Africa Minerals Development Centre AMGF – African Minerals Governance Framework AMV – Africa Mining Vision ASM – Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining AU – African Union CAR – Central African Republic DDE – Dubai Diamond Exchange DPA – Diamond Producers Association DRC – Democratic Republic of Congo GJEPC –Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council KP – Kimberley Process KP CSC – Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition KPCS – Kimberley Process Certification Scheme LSM – Large Scale Mining NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation OECD – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development UN – United Nations US – United States ZCDC – Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company 4 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Up to today brutal human rights abuses, including killings, torture and sexual violence, continue to occur in certain diamond mining areas on the African continent and beyond, affecting both artisanal and industrial production. Moreover, some corporate miners are alleged to be harming local community livelihoods as a result of unmitigated environmental damage coming from their operations, including water, air and noise pollution. Meanwhile, other actors are alleged to be undermining the development potential of diamonds for those countries that rightly stand to benefit from them. This paper spotlights some of the more widely reported ethics issues that have continued to arise in certain diamond mining localities in countries like Angola, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Tanzania, Lesotho and Sierra Leone. It outlines individual cases of publicly reported issues that range from environmental damage and corruption to military predation and serious violence perpetrated by state or private security forces. In annex, it provides a compilation of how some companies respond to such issues. None of the issues raised in this report currently fall within the scope of the Kimberley Process. Intended to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, this international mechanism will only intervene where diamonds are exploited by rebels to fight governments. As a result, diamonds involved in all other conflict-related issues continue to flow onto the international market largely unchecked. Worse, the Kimberley Process certifies such diamonds as “conflict free”, potentially aiding to whitewash such stones vis-à-vis unwitting jewellery consumers reliant on KP assurance. This year marks the end of a three-year KP reform cycle. It is a last chance for governments to address some of the KP’s most significant flaws, especially its failure to prevent the flow of blood diamonds. Doing so would require broadening the definition of conflict diamonds to include major cases of serious violence in whatever context they take place. This is an issue paramount to the integrity of the KP. Unfortunately, proposals to this end have so far been met with division and even resistance among certain KP member states. As well as undue politization of the KP, the lack of consensus in addressing problems like diamond-related violence may also reflect prevailing commercial dynamics in the global diamond supply chain that can incentivize states to maintain the current status quo. For some, bad ethics makes for good business. This seriously undermines existing efforts to address such ethics problems through industry-led voluntary schemes. While resistance to KP reform might offer short-term benefits for some, it exacerbates the growing challenges that the diamond sector is now facing. As long as issues like serious violence are allowed to continue despite the existence of a forum to prevent them, like the KP, consumer trust in steps to eradicate blood diamonds will diminish. This risks eroding trust in the diamond sector as a whole, undermining its long-term sustainability, and the otherwise positive benefits it can offer. Certain sections of industry have understood the reputational risk that these ethics issues pose. Industry insiders have repeatedly highlighted that Millennials and Generation Z are socially conscious and have a strong desire for ethically sourced stones. Indeed, today’s consumers are not only presented with a plethora of options for luxury spending but those with an appetite for diamonds are now also being marketed lab-grown stones, which seek to compete with natural diamonds on both price and ethics. Here, it is essential for states to understand, as certain industry actors do, that the future of the diamond sector will more than ever before depend on consumers associating them with positive values like equitable and sustainable development, and not with conflict, violence, environmental harm or human rights abuse. The KP’s own industry observer, the World Diamond Council, has called upon states
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