The Kimberley Process (KP) has failed for a third straight year to agree on an expanded definition of conflict diamonds after a five-day plenary in Dubai.
Delegates from 86 member countries arrived with expectations that long-delayed reforms might finally advance. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, pressure has intensified to modernize the definition of conflict diamonds, and media reports suggested negotiators were close to a breakthrough.
World Diamond Council (WDC) president Feriel Zerouki opened the meeting by warning that the KP stood at a crossroads and urged members to move the system forward. The effort collapsed anyway.
The WDC said it felt profound regret that a small group of participants blocked consensus on reforms meant to better protect Africa’s diamond-mining communities. The Review and Reform Committee had spent three years crafting what the WDC called the most ambitious overhaul in more than two decades. The proposed definition covered violence carried out by militias, mercenaries, organized criminal networks, private military and security companies and other non-state actors. It would also have formally recognized mining communities within the KP’s mandate and added armed conflict and systematic or widespread violence to the list of actions covered.
According to the WDC, the research behind the proposal was shared repeatedly and never challenged. The group said progress was halted not over evidence or language but because a few members pushed the KP to intervene in matters beyond its authority, including state decisions and national security. Zerouki said that stance signalled that the safety of African miners mattered less than that of others.
A large majority supported the reform package, and the WDC stressed that the setback came from a minority, not from the KP itself. Zerouki urged participants to turn disappointment into pressure and accountability, saying the organization must remain worthy of the people it is meant to protect.
Mounting scrutiny
The fresh setback came as outside critics intensified scrutiny of the KP. Earlier in the month, IMPACT, an organization that oversees natural resources management in areas where human rights violations are a concern, released a statement arguing that the KP’s structure and track record make it a poor model for responsible mineral governance.
The group said the system has struggled with issues tied to conflict, human rights abuses, smuggling and corruption, and noted that other sectors have shifted to due-diligence approaches that place responsibility on companies rather than governments.
The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition voiced similar concerns after the Dubai meeting.
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The Kimberley Process (KP) has failed for a third straight year to agree on an expanded definition of conflict diamonds after a five-day plenary in Dubai.
Delegates from 86 member countries arrived with expectations that long-delayed reforms might finally advance. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, pressure has intensified to modernize the definition of conflict diamonds, and media reports suggested negotiators were close to a breakthrough.
World Diamond Council (WDC) president Feriel Zerouki opened the meeting by warning that the KP stood at a crossroads and urged members to move the system forward. The effort collapsed anyway.
The WDC said it felt profound regret that a small group of participants blocked consensus on reforms meant to better protect Africa’s diamond-mining communities. The Review and Reform Committee had spent three years crafting what the WDC called the most ambitious overhaul in more than two decades. The proposed definition covered violence carried out by militias, mercenaries, organized criminal networks, private military and security companies and other non-state actors. It would also have formally recognized mining communities within the KP’s mandate and added armed conflict and systematic or widespread violence to the list of actions covered.
According to the WDC, the research behind the proposal was shared repeatedly and never challenged. The group said progress was halted not over evidence or language but because a few members pushed the KP to intervene in matters beyond its authority, including state decisions and national security. Zerouki said that stance signalled that the safety of African miners mattered less than that of others.
A large majority supported the reform package, and the WDC stressed that the setback came from a minority, not from the KP itself. Zerouki urged participants to turn disappointment into pressure and accountability, saying the organization must remain worthy of the people it is meant to protect.
Mounting scrutiny
The fresh setback came as outside critics intensified scrutiny of the KP. Earlier in the month, IMPACT, an organization that oversees natural resources management in areas where human rights violations are a concern, released a statement arguing that the KP’s structure and track record make it a poor model for responsible mineral governance.
The group said the system has struggled with issues tied to conflict, human rights abuses, smuggling and corruption, and noted that other sectors have shifted to due-diligence approaches that place responsibility on companies rather than governments.
The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition voiced similar concerns after the Dubai meeting.