KPCSC calls on DRC to formalise diamond craft sector to combat illicit trade
In its report published last June, the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC) calls on seven African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to formalize the diamond craft sector, with a view to combating the illicit diamond trade and preventing abuses by local communities.
The report states that the advent of Covid-19 and containment measures have had a negative impact that has led to a reduction in the production and number of workers in mining companies in particular, in the 28 (twenty-eight) diamond mining areas in 9 (nine) provinces of the DRC.
The same source states that Africa, the world’s largest producer of diamonds, is hard hit by Covid-19 in terms of the supply chain of this mining product, a factor in the socio-economic development of these 7 (seven) African countries namely the DRC, Zambia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The KPCSC recommends that these countries comply with private sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, which must be tailored to the specific needs and requirements of artisanal miners and communities involved in the extraction of this ore. This, taking into account the new challenges of the health crisis.
It also calls on the governments concerned to ensure that information and data on the pandemic reach mining communities while partnering with organizations with the appropriate networks, resources and skills to carry out this mission.
The Kimberley process was initiated in 2000 by the UN, diamond-producing states, the diamond industry and NGOs. Its aim is to ensure that no rough diamonds entering the world market are a “diamond of war”.
