News / National
Chiadzwa exports resumptions, EU seeks emergency meeting
07 Apr 2011 at 07:49hrs | Views
The recent decision by Kimberley Process Chairman Mathieu Yamba of the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow Zimbabwe to resume exports of diamonds mined in the Marange fields has prompted the European Union to seek an emergency meeting of the KP Working Group on Monitoring, Voice of America reports.
Yamba's decision last month sparked controversy, with the EU, US, Canada, and Australia arguing that it had not been taken in accordance with KP policy, which demands that all policy be reached through a process of consensus.
The US has said that until the matter is resolved definitively, it will publish the names of all diamond companies dealing in Marange diamonds on a government website, and the World Diamond Council issued a warning to its members advising them to refrain from trading in Marange diamonds for the time being.
The VoA quoted Britain's Minister of State in the Foreign Office, Lord Howell, saying that the EU had concerns about Yamba's decision creating "uncertainty" for KP participants, the diamond industry as a whole, and consumers.
On Tuesday, a delegation of the African Diamond Producers Association visited the Marange diamond fields ahead of a summit convened to address issues relating to the controversial Marange area.
Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said he hoped the ADPA members would push "an African agenda" that would strengthen diamond producing nations' negotiating position.
Mpofu further said that Yamba's decision on Zimbabwe diamond exports should be supported because it initiated measures that "restored the fundamental principles of the KP" on "equality, mutual benefits, and consensus."
In related news, Anjin, a Chinese mining company operating in Chiadzwa, has accumulated a stock of approximately 1 million carats of rough diamonds and is waiting for KP inspection and approval to export them.
Yamba's decision last month sparked controversy, with the EU, US, Canada, and Australia arguing that it had not been taken in accordance with KP policy, which demands that all policy be reached through a process of consensus.
The US has said that until the matter is resolved definitively, it will publish the names of all diamond companies dealing in Marange diamonds on a government website, and the World Diamond Council issued a warning to its members advising them to refrain from trading in Marange diamonds for the time being.
The VoA quoted Britain's Minister of State in the Foreign Office, Lord Howell, saying that the EU had concerns about Yamba's decision creating "uncertainty" for KP participants, the diamond industry as a whole, and consumers.
On Tuesday, a delegation of the African Diamond Producers Association visited the Marange diamond fields ahead of a summit convened to address issues relating to the controversial Marange area.
Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said he hoped the ADPA members would push "an African agenda" that would strengthen diamond producing nations' negotiating position.
Mpofu further said that Yamba's decision on Zimbabwe diamond exports should be supported because it initiated measures that "restored the fundamental principles of the KP" on "equality, mutual benefits, and consensus."
In related news, Anjin, a Chinese mining company operating in Chiadzwa, has accumulated a stock of approximately 1 million carats of rough diamonds and is waiting for KP inspection and approval to export them.
Source - Byo24News
