Kimberley Process a "watchdog without teeth"

Describing the global diamond certification system thus far agreed upon in the Kimberley Process "a watchdog without teeth, chained in a kennel", the Fatal Transactions network nongovernmental organisation is organising a meeting of experts in the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday to "ensure that the EU [European Union] takes its responsibility in stopping the vicious circle of trade and terror that continues fuelling Africa's most brutal wars". In a statement released on Monday, Fatal Transactions said that it was "worried about the little progress made so far" in the global effort to put an end to international trade in diamonds from conflict regions. It reported that about 500,000 civilians have lost their lives over the past decade in the diamond wars of Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Although the issue has been high on the international agenda, we just keep each other busy talking about the issue", with little concrete action taking place, Judith Sargentini, the international coordinator of Fatal Transactions, told IRIN on Tuesday. "To date, we have no monitoring system, no secretariat, no agreement on statistics," she continued. "There has been a lot of talk, but little changing of theory into practice." The Kimberley Process is a negotiating process seeking to establish minimum acceptable international standards for national certification schemes of import and export of rough diamonds in an effort to stem the flow of rough diamonds from rebel-held conflict areas, "thereby contributing substantially to peace and protecting the legitimate diamond industry", according to the Kimberley Process web site. "Only 4 percent of global diamond production is regarded as 'conflict diamonds', while a number of countries depend heavily on the legitimate diamond industry for their economic and social development," it said. The Thursday meeting plans to focus in particular on the EU's role in the international diamond trade. "The EU, as the largest importer of rough diamonds, has a clear interest in not letting conflict diamonds across [its] borders," noted the Fatal Transactions statement. "The system that should come into force within the European Union during 2002 needs to be effective and trustworthy. This requires considerable work within a very short time scale by all parties involved," it continued. "It implies pushing those EU member states that have proven not to be carrying out properly their border controls - and it will also necessitate considerable support to African countries to strengthen their capacity." Fatal Transactions, an international consumer campaign, aims to "raise awareness and increase understanding of how western companies are involved in conflicts in Africa through buying natural resources from combatants". A meeting on 7 March under the topic of "Implementation of the Kimberley Process: stopping the blood diamond trade to Europe" is being organised in cooperation with The Netherlands institute for Southern Africa (NiZA), a member of the Fatal Transactions network, and Oxfam International, in association with Max van den Berg, a member of the European parliament.