RJC Warns Members not to Trade in Marange Diamonds

A watchdog organization for the sustainable and conflict-free sourcing and sales of gemstones, precious metals and jewelry has told its members not to trade in diamonds from the Marange mine in Zimbabwe until it receives Kimberley Process approval.

“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 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,” The Responsible Jewellery Council said in a statement to its members.

The RJC is a non-profit organization promotes responsible ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices in a transparent and accountable manner throughout the industry from mine to retail. Zimbabwe wants to export diamonds from its controversial Marange field, where human rights groups allege it is the scene of forced labor, torture, beatings and harassment by government troops. The southern African country denies all allegations.

The Kimberley Process is charged with preventing trade in “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, the term used for diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity. It operates a certification scheme designed to eliminate these issues in the trade of diamonds by identifying the source of a diamond’s origin. After four days of closed-meetings I early November, the KP was unable to reach a decision on the trade of these diamonds.

The KP suspended diamond trading from the Marange mine, then instituted a Joint Work Plan where diamonds could be sold under KP supervision. Two diamond sales were held in August and September. But NGOs and some diamond traders are not convinced that the alleged human rights abuses have been eliminated.

The RJC statement reads as follows:

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 the 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 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.

NGOs Demand that Zimbabwe Meets its KP Commitments before Selling Diamonds

Kimberley Process members must ensure that Zimbabwe is following the organization’s commitments before allowing the country to sell diamonds from its Marange diamond fields, KP nongovernmental organization members said.

Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada, known as the KP Civil Society Coalition, released a statement following four days of closed door meetings, in which KP members couldn’t agree on whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell diamonds from its controversial diamond field, the source of alleged human rights violations.

The KP banned Zimbabwe from selling diamonds from the Marange fields following reports of the killing of more than two hundred miners by the Zimbabwean security forces in late 2008 along with patterns of violence and smuggling. The KP authorized two sales (in August and September) from the controversial source under close supervision despite reports of continued violence at the mine.

The NGOs say they recognize that some progress in terms of technical controls has been made since the initial ban. “However, key commitments made in the Joint Work Plan and a follow up agreement reached in St Petersburg in July—which links exports to progress on the ground and emphasizes the role of Zimbabwean civil society—remain unmet. It is only through implementing these agreements that Zimbabwe will meet Kimberley Process minimum standards and prevent renewed violence in Marange,” the statement read.

“The KP Civil Society Coalition remains committed to playing a constructive role in finding an agreement between the Kimberley Process and Zimbabwe; one which allows all Zimbabwean people to benefit from the country's diamond wealth, while ensuring that human rights are respected and the integrity of the KP scheme is preserved,” the statement continued. “We believe that such an agreement must link exports from Marange with progress in implementing existing commitments and reflect the fundamental KP principle of country—rather than individual mine—certification. The most important of these commitments include:

“• Endorsement and respect for the local civil society monitoring mechanism established by the St Petersburg agreement by which Zimbabwean NGOs report to the KP on conditions in Marange.

“• Measures agreed by Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process to remove the military from Marange and put in place a system of law enforcement overseen by civilian authorities.

“• Steps to tackle illegal mining and cross border trafficking of diamonds, including the establishment of regulations that allow for small scale mining of diamonds.”

There are rumors that impasse over the Zimbabwe issue may bring down the entire Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which “imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’ and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate trade,” according to the KP Web site.

KP certificate

“Under the terms of the KPCS, participating states must meet ‘minimum requirements’ and must put in place national legislation and institutions; export, import and internal controls; and also commit to transparency and the exchange of statistical data. Participants can only legally trade with other participants who have also met the minimum requirements of the scheme, and international shipments of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a KP certificate guaranteeing that they are conflict-free.”

KP member states

The KP has 49 members representing 75 countries with the European Union and member states counting as individual participants, according to the KP Web site. It includes 99.8 percent of the diamond industry, government officials and the World Diamond Council, which represents the international diamond trade. The NGOs participate in what appears to be a less significant role.

The KPCS was first conceived in 2000 and finalized in 2002 in response to the civil war in Sierra Leone. Specifically, the use of diamonds by the Revolutionary United Front to purchase weapons that were used to commit atrocities against civilians that left many thousands dead or mutilated, with unknown numbers of people abducted and tortured.

Update: KP Fails to Approve Zimbabwe Diamond Sales, Country Official Defiant, Says it will Sell them Anyway

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP

After four days of closed-door meetings, officials representing the Kimberley Process have failed to reach an agreement on whether Zimbabwe will be able to sell diamonds through the organization’s certification scheme.

“An agreement has not yet been finalized,” Boaz Hirsch, KP chairman reportedly told a news conference Thursday in Jerusalem, where the KP plenary meeting was held. “We are still working with Zimbabwe and other countries.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's mines and mining development minister, Obwet Moses Mpofu, said the country would sell diamonds "immediately" from Marange.

“Zimbabwe will sell diamonds without any conditions,” he reportedly said. “There is no opposition to that.”

Zimbabwe wants to export diamonds from its controversial Marange field, where human rights groups allege it is the scene of forced labor, torture, beatings and harassment by government troops. The southern African country denies all allegations.

The African nation has threatened to flood the world market with underpriced diamonds if it is not allowed to export, The Associated Press reports.

The Kimberley Process is charged with preventing trade in “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, the term used for diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity.

Foreign and domestic human-rights organizations have criticized Zimbabwe for violence against civilians in the Marange diamond fields of eastern Zimbabwe. The criticism led to investigations by the Kimberley Process over the past year. Zimbabwe was allowed to hold two diamond sales in August and September under the watch of the KP.

Second Zimbabwe Diamond Sale Date Kept Secret

The Zimbabwe government said it will not disclose the date of its next diamond auction citing security reasons, according to a published report.

The diamond sale was scheduled for September 6, but apparently has not happened. Mines and Mining Development permanent secretary, Thankful Musukutwa, reportedly refused to disclose the dates when Abbey Chikane Kimberley Process appointed monitor is expected in the country to certify another batch of diamonds for the second sale.

Zimbabwe sold 1.1 million carats of diamonds on Aug 11 from the two companies mining in the Marange diamond fields. It was the first diamond sale since diamond sales from Zimbabwe were banned by the Kimberly Process, an organization of governments, diamond dealers and non-government organizations that attempts to combat “conflict” or “blood” diamonds by using a certification process to trace rough diamonds to their origins.

Beginning in 2008, the Zimbabwe army took over the Marange diamond fields forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. These miners were massacred by soldiers and villagers have been beaten, raped and forced to work as virtual slaves.

Some diamond traders and jewelers are still skeptical whether the diamond fields are free from abuse and have instituted their own ban on the purchase of diamonds from  Zimbabwe. Among them are the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, UK-based diamond jewelry company MasterCut and the Company of Masters Jewellers, the exclusive buyer of MasterCut diamonds

Sierra Leone Diamond Exports Up 43%

Photo from AFP

Diamond exports from Sierra Leone increased by 43 percent in the first half of 2010 over the same period last year, reaching $51 million, the Government's Gold and Diamond Office reportedly said Wednesday.

In the first six months of 2009 exports totaled more than $35.8 million, Agence France-Presse reports the government saying in a press release. 

This is the highest amount of exports from the West African since the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme  was implemented in 2000, according to the Sierra Leone government.

The Kimberley process seeks to ensure the sale of diamonds does not fund violence.

Deputy Mining Minister Ignatius Koroma told AFP the figures are the result of a recent decision to reduce the fee for the export license for diamond dealers from $40,000 to $35,000, due to a slowing in the diamond market.

Sierra Leone's government has stepped up efforts to control the trafficking of diamonds across its borders, AFP reports.

The illegal trading of so called blood diamonds was rife in the country's decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002.

UK Diamond Firm, Jewelry Buying Group Ban Zimbabwe Diamonds

UK-based diamond jewelry company MasterCut is refusing to buy rough diamonds from the Marange fields in Zimbabwe because the company said it doesn’t believe the human rights abuses that forced an international  ban on the diamonds hasn’t ended, according to media reports. The company has gone so far as to rally others to support its effort.

In addition, the Company of Masters Jewellers, which is the exclusive buyer of MasterCut diamonds, supports MasterCut's ban. CMJ is the largest independent jewelry buying group in the UK.

“We believe industry leadership is required to maintain consumer confidence, and would call on other diamond brands to confirm no Zimbabwean diamonds are being used in their diamond jewelry,” James Maxwell, MasterCut group marketing and strategy director, reportedly said. “Diamonds should be a force of good for Africa. Botswana has been a role model in sub-Saharan Africa, where it has demonstrated how diamond revenue can be channeled back into infrastructure, healthcare and education.

“We look forward to the time when we can buy from Zimbabwe, when diamonds are shown to be demonstrably beneficial to the country.”

Willie Hamilton, CMJ chief executive, reportedly added: “I support the ban one hundred percent. We jointly made this decision."

He continued, “There is too much uncertainty over whether the diamonds coming out of that country will be ethical. What constitutes ‘ethical’ also needs to be more comprehensively defined.”

The two groups have now joined the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network (RapNet), which has also banned diamonds from Zimbabwe. Martin Rapaport, who owns and operates the international diamond trading network, has warned its members that trading diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange diamonds fields will result in expulsion from the network and having their names disclosed.

Beginning in 2008 the Zimbabwe army took over the Marange fields forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. These miners were massacred by soldiers and villagers have been beaten, raped and forced to work as virtual slaves. The human rights abuses led to Zimbabwe's being suspended from the Kimberley Process, an organization of governments, diamond dealers and non-government organizations that attempts to combat “conflict” or “blood” diamonds by using a certification process to trace rough diamonds to their origins.

The KP voted to reinstate Zimbabwe in July, allowing two supervised exports of rough diamond from the Marange production. The first auction of 90,000 carats was held August 11and reportedly raised $72 million.  The second sale is scheduled for September 6.

Second update 6/25/11: Kimberley Process Allows Zimbabwe to Sell Diamonds from Marange, Or Did it?

Miners at the Marange diamond fields.

The Kimberley Process ended its ban of Zimbabwe diamonds from the controversial Manage diamond fields— which has been the source of murders, human rights abuses and diamond smuggling—according to media reports.It is also the source of what is believed by many to be the largest deposit of diamonds in the world.

Update, 6/24/11, 6:30 p.m. EDT: Apparently these reports may have been issued too soon. After several Twitter exchanges with jewelry industry reporters Michelle Graff of National Jeweler and Rob Bates of JCK, apparently this may not the case. Please read on.

Zimbabwe authorities say the violence and smuggling no longer exists. Human rights group say violence and smuggling continue under the country's military, which is tied to the Zimbabwe ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union, Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), led by Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe.

Mathieu Yamba, the current Kimberley Process chairman told reporters of the decision following a closed-meeting of the organization Thursday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Update, 6/24/11, 6:30 p.m. EDT: Yamba did say that the Kimberley Process approved mining in the Mbada and Kanadai mines in the Marange region and that exports from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields will be monitored by two representatives of the Kimberley Process until the organization’s next meeting, as confirmed by media reports. However, as he has done in the past, Yamba gave the approval without the consensus of Kimberley Process members that is needed to approve such a measure.

The Kimberley Process is made up of diamond industry representatives, government officials from 75 countries and non-governmental organizations. The Kimberley Process is charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds—commonly called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, depending on whether you have a vested interest in the diamond industry. Illicit diamonds under the organization’s mandate are the result of diamonds being used to fund brutal civil wars where innocent people are being killed and mutilated by those involved in these conflicts.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as “conflict-free.”

Update, 6/24/11, 6:30 p.m. EDT: The U.S. Department of State issued a statement saying that there is no consensus among members on the Zimbabwe issue.

"Contrary to some reporting, the Kinshasa Intersessional did not reach a consensus text. The Chair has circulated a text to participants which did not attract consensus," the statement read. "We believe that work toward a solution must continue, and that until consensus is reached, exports from Marange should not proceed."

As reported Thursday, the civil society coalition, which includes Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada, reportedly walked out of the meeting charging that the KPCS is not meeting its most basic commitments to prevent diamonds from fueling violence and human rights violations, and to provide guarantees to consumers that they are buying clean diamonds.

For its part, Zimbabwe has said it will sell diamonds from Marange with or without KP approval and countries, including China and South Africa, said they will accept their diamonds. There are several other countries willing to do the same.

So regardless of what the KP does, Zimbabwe will sell its diamonds and countries will accept them while NGOs and other countries will protest. So after two days of meetings, nothing has changed.

Here are links to reports on the issue from National Jeweler and JCK.

Update 6/25/11, 6:10 p.m.: Here is a link to a Voice of America story that attempts to explain further what happened at the closed-door meeting.  VOC has consistently provided the most impressive coverage of this long-running issue.

Is the Kimberley Process Dead? Does Anybody Know or Care?

A miner holds the fruit of his labor at the Marange mine.

While the international jewelry industry was meeting in Las Vegas this week, the big news was coming out of Africa as the Voice of America and other publications reported that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is in “turmoil” after South Africa announced that it will purchase diamonds mined at the controversial Marange diamond field in Zimbabwe.

A spokesman for South African Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, said the country’s position is the same as that of Kimberly Process Chairman Matthieu Yamba, who issued a statement in January saying Zimbabwe can freely sell its diamonds from Marange, even though there was never a consensus among Kimberley Process members.

Meanwhile, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, which protects the interests of the world’s diamond bourses, held a dog-and-pony show at the JCK Las Vegas jewelry trade show last week. I didn’t bother to attend, opting instead to keep scheduled appointments with jewelry manufacturers and designers who were actually doing something relevant. Prior to its event, the WFDB stated that it supports the exports of diamonds from Marange.

Again a little backtracking is needed. Please forgive me if you read this before. The Kimberley Process is an international organization made up of diamond industry representatives, government officials from 75 countries and non-governmental organizations. It is charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds—commonly called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, depending on whether you have a vested interested in the diamond industry. Illicit diamonds under the organization’s mandate are the result of diamonds being used to fund brutal civil wars where innocent people are being killed and mutilated by those involved in these conflicts.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as “conflict-free.”

I’ve been wondering what the KP does besides hold closed-door meetings, which to me is its biggest failure. How can an organization that exists primarily to ensure consumers that its products have been mined through legal means and without human rights abuses can provide that assurance while meeting in private. In fact, the KP does such a poor job of communicating with consumers that I would doubt that one in 20 jewelry shoppers know what the hell a “Kimberley Process” is, much less what it does.

The Marange diamond field, which many say contain the largest deposit of diamonds in the world, has been the scene of murders and other human rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s government and its military. The Zimbabwe government say those abuses have stopped but human rights advocates say they continue; that money from mines is being used to finance the ruling party’s operations, including upcoming elections; and diamond smuggling is rampant. However, the country is not involved in a civil war, therefore under the KP’s mandate, Zimbabwe’s government and its allies believe they can sell its diamonds. Expanding that mandate to include human rights abuses not funded by civil war is one of the sticking points.

The human rights abuses eventually led the Kimberley Process to suspend buying diamonds from Marange. The KP voted to reinstate Zimbabwe in July, 2010, allowing two supervised exports of rough diamond from the Marange production in August and September. The date of the second sale was changed and the sale was held without public knowledge.

The issue of reinstating Zimbabwe into the KP Certification Process was the main item on the agenda when the organization met in November, 2010 in Jerusalem. After four days of closed door meetings (of course), participants failed to reach a conclusion. The issue is still unresolved with communications being issued only among KP participants and no information being presented to the public, unless it is leaked.

For its part, Zimbabwe government officials insist that it received approval to sell diamonds from Marange through the KP certification scheme. In addition, it has made statements that if the organization refuses to allow it to sell its diamonds it will do so anyway, possibly flooding the market with diamonds and reducing their value.

Meanwhile, a variety of organizations have already either banned its members from dealing in diamonds from Marange or have encouraged their members not to do so, including the Responsible Jewellery Council, RapNet, and MasterCut and the Company of Masters Jewellers in the U.K.

Now that South Africa will reportedly buy diamonds from Marange, there is no doubt in my mind and others that India and China will follow. So the market will either be flooded with diamonds that are not KP certified, or the KP will cave to the pressure and certify the diamonds. The first scenario should create a quick end to the KP while the second scenario will probably lead to a much slower demise.

In the end I wonder if it matters, since the general public has no idea that this organization ever existed in the first place.

Kimberley Process Moves Closer to Approving Diamond Exports from Marange

It appears that the Kimberley Process is one step closer to allowing Zimbabwe to sell diamonds through its certification scheme from the controversial Marange field in Zimbabwe. Not because diamonds from what is considered to be the largest deposit of diamonds in the world are conflict-free, but because the body made up of diamond industry representatives, government officials from 75 countries and non-governmental organizations have approved an amendment that will make it more difficult to prove human rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s government.

Just to be clear, the KP is the international organization charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds.

What KP members did was approve an amendment to the “violence clause,” of an agreement they have been trying to approve since November, according to Voice of America and other publications. This clause is apparently one of the strongest sticking points to coming to terms with the thorny political issue of deciding what to do about Zimbabwe and its alleged human rights abuses at Marange.

Under the new language, three rather than two member countries would have to endorse a call for monitoring by the industry watchdog group, VOA reports.

This has been reported for the past week, but I held off on posting it because there was no actual, on-the-record confirmation by anyone associated with the KP, although some individual members have made statements. But this has been such widely reported and consistent in its reporting that I believe it to be fact.

As usual, this approval was done in secret. Yet, this is the organization that is charged with ensuring consumers that the diamonds they buy are conflict-free.

Alan Martin, research director with Partnership Africa Canada, a Kimberley Process NGO member, told VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo that if Harare accepts the revised agreement that will be a step toward further export sales of Marange diamonds.

There’s much more written about this on this Web site. Just do a search for “Zimbabwe” or “Kimberley Process.”

Kimberley Process Member Challenges Zimbabwe Official Claims

A Kimberley Process member has challenged claims by Zimbabwean Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire that the watchdog group authorized Zimbabwe to hold sales from the controversial Marange diamond mines in 2011, according to the Voice of America.

In published comments, Chimanikire says that the KP will allow diamonds from the mine, which has been the source of alleged widespread human rights abuses, to be sold in two supervised auctions. Chimanikire says the agreement is to sell diamonds mined from 2006 to 2009, so they did not fall under a current suspension of sales by the KP.

Global Witness official, Elly Harrowell, a KP member, told VOA that she knows of no such decision. Harrowell is the first KP member to go on the record. The only other report disputing Chimanikire’s claim has come from an unidentified official from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In addition, KP members have until Monday to decide whether to revise Kimberley protocols to require three instead of two member nations to accept reports of violence in order to investigate further, VOA reports. The change would make it harder for critics of Marange operations to trigger a new inquiry.

To read more about this ongoing issue please search this site using the keyword “Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe Minister Confirms KP Diamond Sales Approval

Gift Chimanikire, Zimbabwe deputy minister of Mines and Minerals Development, has reaffirmed that the Southern African country has received Kimberley Process approval to hold two diamond sales, according to The Zimbabwe Guardian and other media outlets.

Chimanikire (pictured) responded to media reports from diamond industry media outlets quoting an unnamed Democratic Republic of Congo spokesperson saying that the KP was waiting for a response on an amendment to Zimbabwe's draft administrative decision before approving the two auctions.

Chimanikire told media outlets that the amendment has no bearing on the sales and that he has received a letter from the KP approving the sales—statements that he first made Tuesday. He reportedly added the southern African nation can sell gems from the controversial Marange diamond fields provided they were mined between 2006 and 2009.

The Kimberley Process was formed in 2002 by governments and the diamond industry to halt the sale of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds, gems used to finance conflicts. Zimbabwe faces accusations of smuggling, murder, rape and assault by its army and police at its Marange fields by rights groups, including Global Witness and Human Rights Watch. The government denies those claims.

Farai Magawu, director of the Center for Research and Development, a Zimbabwean diamond lobby group, told Bloomberg News that the income from the sales could be used to “fund repression.”

Search the Jewelry News Network for a collection of stories on this issue.

Report: Kimberley Process Approves Marange Diamond Sales

Photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, AP

 
The Kimberley Process, the organization charged with preventing trade in illicit diamonds, has reportedly approved supervised sales of diamonds from the highly controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.

Gift Chimanikire, Zimbabwe Mines and Mining development deputy minister, said that the KP recently wrote to the Zimbabwe government, confirming that it could market its precious stones, according to a report Tuesday in ZimOnline, a Zimbabwean independent news agency.

The issue of Zimbabwe selling diamonds from the Marange fields has divided the KP along political lines with Western countries led by the United States, Germany and Australia as well as nongovernmental organizations calling for banning of the gems, citing reports of continuing human rights abuses and rampant smuggling at the controversial diamond field. They are at odds with other African countries and other countries, including Russia, who are opposed to banning the diamonds, ZimOnline reports. The Zimbabwe government claims that the Western countries and NGOs are driven more their dislike of President Robert Mugabe than by concern for human rights.

The KP is made up of governments, diamond industry representatives and NGOs to stem the flow of “conflict” or “blood” diamonds—rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as “conflict-free.” The KP has 49 members, representing 75 countries, with the European Community and its member states counting as an individual participant.

Beginning in 2008, the Zimbabwe army took over the Marange fields, considered by many to be one of the largest diamond deposits in the world, forcing out tens of thousands of small-scale miners. These miners were massacred by soldiers and villagers have been beaten, raped and forced to work in the mines. The human rights abuses led to Zimbabwe to being suspended from the KP.

The KP voted to temporarily reinstate Zimbabwe in July, allowing two supervised exports of rough diamond from Marange held in August and September. However, the KP in November, based on continued reports of human rights abuses and smuggling, failed to reach an agreement on whether to allow Zimbabwe to sell Marange diamonds through the organization’s certification scheme. In response, the Zimbabwean government threatened to dump their diamonds on the open market, which would cause worldwide diamond prices to fall. 

Among the more recent accusations, is a report from Human Rights Watch that accuses Mugabe's long-ruling ZANU-PF party of tapping proceeds from the illicit sale of diamonds from the Marange field to fund its campaign for anticipated 2011 elections, according to Voice of America. The report includes charges of killings by the military of freelance diamond panners in the Marange field, while diamond smuggling through Mozambique was rampant.

In a related development, VOA reports that Israeli authorities have arrested two men on charges they tried to smuggle Marange diamonds into the country.

Law enforcement agencies arrested David Vardi and Gilad Halachmi at the Tel Aviv airport on December 23.The two are accused of trying to smuggle diamonds worth more than $200,000 into the country. Vardi, a diamond trader registered under the Israeli Diamond Exchange, has been expelled from that organization.

In a more recent development, six alleged diamond fraudsters are expected to be indicted at the High Court of Zimbabwe for trial on Tuesday amid fears they may be remanded in custody, according to the Zimbabwean publication, NewsDay.

The six include Core Mining and Mineral Resources director Lovemore Kurotwi, suspended ZMDC chief executive officer Dominic Mubaiwa, suspended legal advisor and company secretary John Tichaona Muhonde, former ZMDC acting chairperson Gloria Mawarire, former ZMDC director Ashton Sibusiso Ndlovu and former ZMDC board member of the technical committee, Mark Tsomondo.

The six accused persons were arrested on allegations of conniving to defraud the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and government of more than $10 million worth of diamonds.

Search the Jewelry News Network for a collection of stories on this issue.