The Kimberley Process is at a crossroads on the issue of the" blood diamonds "

Even if the participation of the Central African Republic (CAR) in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has been suspended since May 2013, diamonds are the largest source of the country's export earnings, according to the Enough Project, which conducted an assessment of the diamond trade In the amount of $ 39 million in 2014 and already at $ 12.9 million for the period from January to April this year.

The Warlord Business report, compiled by Kasper Agger in the Enough Project, details how armed groups from the former Seleca and Anti-Balaka receive Benefit from the shadow economy, in which armed cliques, military dictators and illegal networks receive millions of dollars by robbery, extortion and illegal trade in gold and diamonds.

In the course of work on the Enough Project, it was established that the volume of illegal trade and taxation by armed groups in the CAR this year amounted to $ 3.87 million to $ 5.8 million, and diamond mining companies have $ 7.8 million worth of diamonds that are expected When the Kimberley Process removes the ban on exports. Yet, the Enough Project has determined that most of the diamonds and gold used to finance the rebel groups are smuggled out of the CARs into neighboring countries, mainly to Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, and then exported to international shopping centers.

"The leaders of armed groups who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars and control huge sites throughout the CARs have little desire to lay down their arms and stop violence," Egger said. "These leaders must face increasing pressure from UN peacekeepers in the CAR, and with respect to accomplices who work closely with armed groups, targeted sanctions, a ban on movement, and their assets must be frozen."

Egger wrote that the Central African Republic must be put in place before the Kimberley Process lifts the ban on diamond exports. First, the Enough Project envisages the withdrawal of all armed groups from mining sites and the transfer of control over the diamond trading markets to UN peacekeepers or the local gendarmerie. Secondly, the establishment of a reliable tracking system and a thorough comprehensive verification of diamonds purchased and sold by local diamond mining companies.

Sasha Lezhnev, deputy director of politics at the Enough Project, said: "The Kimberley Process is at a crossroads on the issue of the" blood diamonds "of the CAR. Before the Kimberley Process lifts the ban, it must establish a reliable monitoring group on the ground, among which participants would be representatives of stakeholders and which would have strong support from UN peacekeepers. Otherwise, conflict diamonds will start to fall into our jewelry stores again. "

The Group noted that the Kimberley Process should ensure that, in addition to the usual mandate, the conditions for protection from conflict diamonds entering the world market are met. The US and EC should help the CARs to obtain the basic production statistics for the mines where conflict-free diamonds are mined, and the Kimberley Process should establish a multilateral group based in the CAR to monitor whether conflict diamonds fall into the supply of conflict-free diamonds. In addition, the group concluded that diamond companies that purchase diamonds from the CARs or in neighboring countries should also conduct a rigorous comprehensive review of their purchases of rough diamonds

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