EU Presidency Statement - The role of diamonds in conflict

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union on item 37 of the General Assembly´s agenda, which refers to the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict.

Bulgaria, the Czech Rrepublic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey and Iceland allign themselves with this statement.

Mr. President,

Trade in conflict diamonds is a matter of serious concern for the international community because of its direct links to armed conflict, the subversive activities of rebel movements and the proliferation of armaments. The illegal exploitation and trade of natural riches, and of diamonds in particular, constitutes a serious threat for stability and security.

The European Union believes that the fight against trafficking in conflict diamonds is essential in the search for the settlement of conflicts, as well as a key component for preventing the emergence or recurrence of conflicts. Halting the flow of conflict diamonds into the legitimate trade will make a major contribution to peace and development and assist the legitimate trade in continuing to do its business - in developing countries as well as in the developed.

In the attempts made so far to find effective ways of addressing trade in conflict diamonds, we would like to refer to the efforts made by two key players.

First, the United Nations has taken action on this matter both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council, and the EU welcomes the initiatives and measures taken in both fora.

Secondly, the Kimberley Process has worked very actively to develop proposals for the envisaged international certification scheme. Representatives of the diamond industry and civil society have been closely involved in this work. After the adoption of resolution 55/56 more states world-wide joined the Process which since then has become known as the "expanded" Kimberley Process. Since December 2000 meetings have been held in Windhoek, Brussels, Moscow, Twickenham, Luanda, and Gaborone. The EU welcomes the steady progress made through all those meetings and, in particular, the Working Document 9/2001 as amended "Essential Elements of an International Scheme of Certification for Rough Diamonds with a view to breaking the link between armed conflict and the trade in rough diamonds" of 29 November 2001.

The EU considers that the work done by the UN and the Kimberly Process is complementary since the finalization of the international certification scheme for rough diamonds would prove very important to ensure the effective implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions on the matter. The EU encourages an expeditious finalisation of the international certification scheme and expects further progress in this direction during the next meeting of the Kimberley Process in Ottawa in order to meet the deadline for implementation set in Gaborone.

Mr. President,

The European Union fully supports the draft resolution which South Africa is tabling for adoption and considers it as an important step in the UN involvement in the matter. The European Union intends to continue to play an active and constructive role on this question. We encourage the widest possible participation in the envisaged international certification scheme, including by all Member States of the UN trading in diamonds, as this is of the greatest importance to the successful implementation of the scheme.

Thank you, Mr. President.

| Top |

• EU adopts ban on conflict diamonds (8/8/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - The role of diamonds in conflict (1/12/2000)