The EU & the Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process is a joint government, international diamond industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds - rough diamonds that are used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The trade in these illicit stones has contributed to devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is an innovative, voluntary system that imposes extensive requirements on Participants to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process is composed of 45 Participants, including the European Community. Kimberley Process Participants account for approximately 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds. The European Commission has contributed actively to the development of the KPCS since its inception and has taken over the Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2007, succeeding South Africa, Canada, Russian Federation and Botswana.

The link address is: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/kimb/intro/