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EU Presidency Statement - The role of diamonds in conflict

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union on item 21 of the General Assembly's agenda, which relates to cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of American States (OAS). The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the EU (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia et Slovenia), the associated countries (Cyprus, Malta and Turkey), and Island, one of the EFTA countries, which are members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

For the first time the United Nations General Assembly is examining the problem of the illegal trade in diamonds and its links with armed conflict. The European Union welcomes this initiative, since success in combating illegal trade of this kind cannot be achieved on a purely national basis, but requires enhanced international cooperation in applying the rule of law. For years such trade has made it possible to finance the purchase of arms and hence to perpetuate armed conflict. Three cases of diamond-producing countries beset with conflict naturally spring to mind:

• Angola is the first among them. Over the last decade the illegal trade in diamonds has made more than three billion dollars for UNITA. This money has enabled it to continue its armed struggle;
  
  
• Sierra Leone is an equally alarming example of the illegal trade in diamonds. The RUF has relied on such trade to finance its military campaigns. The civil populations have been the victims of tragic waves of violence;
  
  
• Third case: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The pillage of that country's economic riches, especially diamonds, is fuelling continued armed conflict. It has become increasingly apparent that lust for these riches is one of the motives for the presence of foreign troops in the Congo in violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country, just as it is today one of the main reasons for the RUF's armed rebellion in Sierra Leone and indeed that of UNITA in Angola.

It should be stressed that civil society, especially non-governmental organizations, has strongly contributed towards making people aware of the seriousness of such trade.

In this context, the fight against illegal diamond trafficking is a factor in preventing conflicts.

The search for solutions has recently progressed thanks to the combined action of two players: the United Nations and the States of the Kimberley process.

The European Union first of all welcomes the measures taken by the United Nations Security Council to ban trade in conflict diamonds. Security Council resolutions and declarations have established milestones in the fight against such trade. I am thinking in particular of:

• Resolutions 1173, 1237 and 1295 on Angola, providing for sanctions against UNITA's trade in diamonds and for the setting up of a group of experts and a monitoring mechanism;
  
  
• Resolution 1306 on Sierra Leone, including sanctions against the trade in diamonds beyond government control;
  
  
• the Statement by the President of the Security Council of 2 June 2000 on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which provides for the setting up of a group of experts to collect information on all activities relating to the illegal exploitation of the natural resources and other riches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in violation of that country's sovereignty.

For their part, the big exporting and importing States and those with a diamond industry have undertaken to combine efforts to implement action aimed at banning trade in conflict diamonds. Progress was made by the Kimberley process. The results of the Joint Ministerial Meeting held in Pretoria on 21 September led to the adoption of a statement highlighting the contribution, which the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds could play in fighting the illicit trade in rough diamonds.

The European Union furthermore notes the contribution of the diamond industry, in particular of the International Diamond Council, the Diamond High Council, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Association of Diamond Manufacturers, in support of international efforts on the creation of the international certification scheme. In this connection the European Union favours continuing efforts to develop an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. Efforts along those lines should be encouraged.

In this context, the European Union recalls that the G8 summit in Miyazaki on conflict prevention initiatives resulted in serious progress on combating the illegal trade in diamonds.

The European Union intends to support an approach aimed at preventing illegal trade of this kind. At the same time it wishes to preserve the legal trade in diamonds, which constitutes an essential resource for the development of numerous countries.

Any certification scheme will be exposed to risks of circumvention. Discussions should therefore be started on the fight against illegal trading and traders. Traffics are naturally not confined within borders and criminal interests are often identical from a crisis to another. In this context, the possible creation of an international mechanism could be considered to monitor the trade in diamonds and other rare and precious raw materials, which contribute towards the financing of wars. In the framework of the United Nations, the creation of an unified expertise structure could also be considered to concentrated all collected data and operate indispensable bringing closer between the different situations. In the meantime wholehearted support should be given to the sanctions committees set up by the Security Council - particularly the committees and group of experts and the monitoring body for Angola, DRC and Sierra Leone - in their efforts to expose illegal diamond trafficking.

More generally and beyond the particular issue of conflict diamonds, the European Union reiterates its concern at the threat, which the illegal exploitation of natural riches poses for the security of many countries, especially in Africa.

A new stage in the fight against conflict diamonds needs to be embarked upon.

The European Union supports the draft resolution, which South Africa will be tabling for adoption. Following the Kimberley process, whose participating States also support the Resolution, this draft proposes the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. Individual States, especially the main exporters and importers, should make every effort possible to make progress on negotiations on an international scheme expeditiously, with a view to introducing it as soon as possible, and to take any other steps possible to curb the illicit trade in rough diamonds. This Resolution must be a first step towards conducting negotiations on this subject. It reflects the long-term interest of the United Nations in following up this highly important issue. We express the firm hope that the European Union will be fully and regularly informed on next steps concerning the implementation of this resolution on which the European Union intend to play a constructive and active role.

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• EU Presidency Statement - The role of diamonds in conflict (13/3/2002)