Namibia Hosts Conference On Conflict Diamonds

Windhoek - An international conference on 'Conflict Diamonds' opened Tuesday in Windhoek with the aim of finding a workable system to stem the flow of the precious stones without hurting the legitimate flow of the trade.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Josef Iita, said that Namibia believes that only through concerted efforts by all stakeholders can there be success in ensuring a bright future for diamonds.

He urged participants to seriously deliberate on the issues on the agenda in order to find a lasting solution to the question of conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds for the role they have played in financing wars in Angola and Sierra Leone.

The meeting, he continued, should concentrate on issues such as the certification scheme as part of a global campaign to stem the trade in conflict diamonds after the proposed UN Resolution.

Iita said other issues to be dealt with include legislation pertaining to control, import and export of diamonds as well as monitoring at both national and international levels.

The diamond industry produces approximately 54 billion Namibian dollars (1 USD = ND7.9) worth of diamonds a year, and feeds a retail jewellery market of almost 480 billion Namibian dollars but also puts the lives of millions at risk in several African conflicts.

Following a communiqué after the September 2000 Ministerial Meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, the UN General Assembly Resolution 55/56 of December 2000 was passed giving the Kimberly Process a mandate to proceed with its work and to come up with a practical, pragmatic and workable solution to the problem of conflict diamonds.

The present conference is a follow-up to a series of meetings to discuss blood diamonds.

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