Kimberly Process
What is the Kimberly Process?
In May of 2000, South African diamond-producing states met in Kimberly, South Africa to discuss ways to stop the trade of conflict/blood diamonds and ensure that diamond purchase do not fund violence (Armstrong). The main producers and buyers of diamonds were worried about the possibility of a boycott by consumers (Baker). As a result of this meeting, the Kimberly Certification Scheme (KCS) was established (Armstrong). The KCS made the members sell conflict free diamonds by requiring them to show all the details about where the diamond came from (Armstrong). Members are also required to not trade with nonmembers (Armstrong). The Kimberly Process was established in 2003 (Baker). The Kimberly Process specifically placed a ban on trading with the Central African Republic (CAR) because it traded conflict/blood diamonds that helped fund genocidal war. By that time, 52 governments had joined the Kimberly Process (Baker).
How Effective is the Kimberly Process?
The Kimberly Process decreased the numbers of conflict/blood diamonds in the world by about 15-20%. That being said, the Kimberly Process can't alone stop the marketing of conflict/blood diamonds. Some people say the Kimberly Process itself doesn't go far enough because it doesn't cover bad working conditions or human-rights abuses. For an example, five years after the Kimberly Process was created, the Zimbabwean army took control of a large mine in Zimbabwe. In the process, they killed more than 200 miners, but the Kimberly Process couldn't do anything. "Thousands had been killed, raped, injured and enslaved in Zimbabwe, and the Kimberly Process had no way to call those conflict diamonds because there were no rebels," Ian Smillie said (Baker).