Zimbabwe’s diamonds saga took a strange twist after KP Monitor for Zimbabwe Abbey Chikane authorised the sale of diamonds from Marange worth $160 million. Non-governmental organisations raised hell. Outgoing KP chair Boaz Hirsch had to issue a statement saying the authorisation by Chikane was illegal. To give our readers a clear picture of what transpired, we published Chikane’s explanation. Today we publish Hirsh’s statement in full. This will be followed by the response from the African Diamond Producers Association and lastly by Mines Minister Obert Mpofu’s response.
KP Chair – Boaz Hirsch’s notice send out on November 17, 2010
As is known to all Kimberley Process (KP) participants, and as is stated in the Draft communiqué circulated to all participants on November 12th, 2010, the Plenary did not come to an agreement regarding KPCS arrangement for diamonds from the Marange area (Zimbabwe).
Consultations are ongoing and I am confident that we will find a consensual way forward which recognises the progress made by Zimbabwe in terms of compliance with KP requirements, whilst offering sufficient reassurance that there would continue to be progress in all areas under the Joint Work Plan so that we can eventually bring the whole of Marange- and indeed Zimbabwe as a participant- into full KP compliance.
Meanwhile, it is of utmost importance that all participants remain vigilant and ensure that terms of the Joint Work Plan and Saint Petersburg agreement are respected these consultations are ongoing.
As a consequence, no trade of Marange diamonds can currently take place under the joint Work Plan until an agreement can be found. Participants are therefore reminded of the need for vigilance and ask participant to notify the WGM (Working Group on Monitoring) chair in the event of receipt of an irregular shipment of Marange diamonds, until new arrangements are agreed that will allow continued implementation of the Joint Work Plan, including the supervised export mechanism. I very much count on your support and will keep you informed of developments.
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