Charles Taylor convicted of War Crimes against Humanity

In a historic ruling, an international court convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor (pictured below) on Thursday of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting notoriously brutal rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for “blood diamonds.”

“I am happy that a verdict has been made and that Charles Taylor is fully and solely responsible for the crimes committed against the people of Sierra Leone. However, he was convicted for “aiding and abetting” in war crimes and crimes against humanity, this threshold is not a high one. Nor does the court have a life sentence or death penalty. I am not a personal advocate for the death sentence but I feel Charles Taylor will never experience the pain he has caused a whole nation and multiple generations of people. Judges have given eight other rebels as much as 52 years in prison, so he will most likely be sentenced to the same. I am just very thankful that he will never go back to Sierra Leone. On my most recent trip there, I asked all the locals…”if Charles Taylor came back to Sierra Leone today and runs for election would you vote for him?” The majority said “yes” (I believe out of fear). Proof that Charles Taylor still has a hold, at least a psychological one, over West Africa.”

- Anna-Mieke Anderson CEO MiaDonna® and founder of The Greener Diamond.

STOP KONY 2012

The movement was started to raise awareness about the alleged war crimes committed by Ugandan military group the Lord’s Resistance Army under the leadership of Joseph Kony.
Invisible Children aim to make international fugitive Kony famous around the globe, ‘not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice’.

The militant is believed to have overseen the guerrilla group’s abduction of an estimated 66,000 children, forcing them to become child soldiers.
On Wednesday ‘KONY 2012′ and ‘Invisible Children’ were trending worldwide on Twitter, with the group’s 30-minute documentary being retweeted thousands of time.

Please click the link below and watch this short film about Joseph Kony. Lets make 2012 the year Joseph Kony is arrested for his crimes against humanity.

kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com

The documentary shows war-torn Uganda through the eyes of Jacob, a former LRA child soldier.

A series of celebrities, including Nicole Richie, Stephen Fry and Rihanna, have tweeted about the subject, with latter writing: ‘#KONY2012 Spread the word!!!’

The overwhelming interest in the movement, caused the group’s website to crash following a huge upsurge in traffic.

To learn more and to help these children please visit our friends at Invisible Children.

Source of article: METRO UK

Time Line of Marange Conflict Diamonds

— Early 1990’s: De Beers started prospecting the Marange area in the early 1990s but left the

country in 2006 after concluding that the deposits were not in line with the firm’s other Africa based

activities.

— March 2002 – March 2006: Kimberlitic Searches, a De Beers subsidiary, operated under two

“exclusive prospecting orders” from the government giving it full exploration rights to search

minerals in Marange. The orders expired in March 28, 2006 and De Beers did not renew them.

— March 2006: African Consolidated Resources (ACR) acquires the claims from De Beers.

— June 2006: Government becomes aware of Marange diamond discovery and ruling party, Zanu‐

PF, declares the fields open to anyone wishing to look for diamonds.

— July 2006: Diamond rush begins and continues through September 2006, while smuggling ran

rampant.

— October 2006: Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) moves into Marange “to

mop up” and begins trying to purchase diamonds from illegal, unlicensed local miners.

— October 2006: ACR is evicted by government forces, and minister of mines, Amos Midzi, grants

exclusive mining and exploration rights to the state–owned Zimbabwe Mining Development

Corporation (ZMDC).

— November 21, 2006: Government launches police “operation Chirorokoza Chapera (End to

Illegal Panning) to stop illegal mining across the country. Approximately 9,000 Marange miners

arrested and gems worth around $7 million seized. “Operation marked by human rights abuses,

corruption, extortion and smuggling” Human Rights Watch said.

— Police set up at least 11 permanent checkpoints to restrict access to Marange district, which

soon became “de facto payment points where miners would bribe police to gain access to the

fields and pay an exit fee on their way out,” Human Rights Watch reported.

— Eventually police start to charge more for the bribes, and also forms “syndicates” with local

miners – or group of miners who operated under direct control of the police.

— November 2006 ‐ October 2008: While police control area, numerous killings, sexual abuse,

exploitation and human rights abuses reported to Human Rights Watch.

— October 2008: Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono estimates approximately 500 syndicates

operating in Marange at any given time.

— Government decides to deploy Zimbabwe Defense Force to Marange fields in response to

lawlessness and chaos there and the police’s inability to control it. May also have been an

intended to end illegal mining and smuggling by the police. Human Rights Watch finds that army

committed “numerous and serious human rights violations, including killings, beatings, torture,

forced labor, and child labor at Marange.

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 Zimbabwe Conflict diamonds enter the markets and fuel a decline in rough diamond pricing

Prices of rough diamonds by De Beers and Alrosa in January 2012 in the diamond city saw a decline between 6% and 10%, especially in the low range category because of competition from Zimbabwe stones. Also, the low range diamond boxes of these giant diamond mining companies are selling at discounted rates by up to 25% in Surat and Mumbai. Industry leaders say Zimbabwe diamonds are about 50% cheaper than those from other sources.

Zimbabwe diamonds started to flow into the world’s biggest diamond cutting and polishing hub in Surat from November 2011 after the international diamond regulatory body Kimberley Process (KP) allowed their exports from the controversial Marange fields. About 30% of the diamond pieces currently manufactured in Surat are Zimbabwe stones.

Aniruddha Lidbide, a diamond analyst, told TOI, “The giant mining companies seem to be under price and sale pressure since November 2011, when the Zimbabwe goods started to enter India. India is the biggest consumer of low-range goods and thus the prices are likely to decrease further in 2012.”

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Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic will serve as Chair of the Kimberley Process for 2012 on behalf of the U.S., the first woman to serve in this post.

Milovanovic is an appointee of Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Jose W. Fernandez, the office of the State Department Spokesperson announced Thursday.
She served as ambassador to Mali in 2008-2011 after serving as ambassador to Macedonia. Milovanovic has held senior positions at U.S. embassies in South Africa, Botswana and Belgium. Milovanovic speaks fluent French and has extensive economic and business experience.
Milovanovic joined the Foreign Service in 1978. Her early assignments included a tour as an international relations officer in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of Fisheries Affairs. She served as vice consul in Sydney, Australia; staff assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and as a political officer in Paris following a year of study at the French Ecole Nationale d’Administration.
 In 1987, Milovanovic joined the U.S. consulate general in Cape Town, South Africa, where she served as political-economic officer and deputy consul general. From 1990 to 1994, she was political-military affairs officer and deputy political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels. From 1994 to 1997, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Gaborone, Botswana. She was Director of the Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs at the Department of State from 1997 to 1999.
 Milovanovic is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. She is the recipient of two Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State.

“The Kimberley Process (KP) has been a disappointment right from the beginning. I have always felt that the KP was just a PR stunt by the diamond industry and sadly it has been proven that the KP has only helped sell more diamonds (conflict or not) rather than stopping the trade and production of conflict diamonds like it is supposed to.

Will this be a good thing for the KP? Can Ms. Gillian Milovanovic turn it around?…well only time will tell. However, I can tell you that I am very impressed (actually…surprised) that a woman was appointed this position.  Statistics show that female leaders are more assertive, persuasive and have a stronger need to get things done. They are also more empathetic and flexible to adapt to current and changing environments than male leaders.

I feel this is a good move for the KP, but as I said, only time will tell. I can only hope her intentions are pure and look forward to seeing the changes she is able to achieve.

I wish Ms. Gillian Milovanovic all the best.”

- Anna-Mieke, Founder of TGD

Kimberley Process Looks at Core Objectives and Definitions
Milovanovic Gives First Briefing on Her Role as KP Chair

RAPAPORT… The following is the transcript of a conference call hosted by Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, the newly appointed U.S. chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) for 2012. The call took place on Friday, February 3, 2012 at the U.S. State Department.

MR. VENTRELL: Hey, everyone. How are you doing? Thanks for joining us this afternoon. This afternoon’s conference call is on the record. We have with us today Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic, who is going to discuss her role as the newly-appointed chair of the Kimberley Process. She’s going to give some opening remarks and then we’ll turn it over for Q&A.
So without further ado, Ambassador, over to you.

AMBASSADOR MILOVANOVIC: Thank you very much, Patrick, and thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk with people about the Kimberley Process, a process which I have just become the chair of in the last two weeks.

I have been, as folks may know, ambassador to Mali. I’ve also served in Botswana and in South Africa. And in Europe, I have served in Belgium, amongst other countries. So that, along with knowing a good deal of French, I think, is part of the reason why I was chosen for this job. It is something that excites me very much. I’m very pleased to have this opportunity, during the United States first chairmanship of the Kimberley Process, to be the person sitting in the chair.

I would say that consensus and seeking consensus is going to be the biggest part of the job. The Kimberley Process, as many probably know, is a combination of government, industry, and civil society. It was launched in 2003 in order to stem the flow of conflict diamonds that were funding rebel groups. It is a process that operates by consensus, and therefore, seeking consensus, fostering the ability to come together and to make decisions in order to move the Kimberley Process forward, is going to be a critical element for the United States this year.

This is the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Kimberley Process, and I will have the privilege of chairing during that period. I will also have the privilege of having, as a vice chair, South Africa, which will be chairing in the 10th anniversary of the Kimberley Process. I hope that this will, again, be a collaborative process between the chair and the vice chair, and I think there will be many opportunities to explore that, notably when I travel to South Africa next week, where there is a Mining Indaba in Cape Town, where I hope to meet, for the first time, many members of the government participants, as well as additional others from industry. This week, I had the privilege of meeting with NGOs and with industry, and I’m beginning to get my feet wet in understanding how this process works.

We have an ambitious agenda. It’s one whose goals are very much in line with what the KP itself has already determined needs to be looked at. The KP decided that it would be looking at reviewing its own goals, its own successes and weaknesses, and that is being done by an ad hoc committee chaired by Botswana. I look forward to working with Botswana again, a country that I know from earlier days, on shepherding the conclusions of that committee through.

One of the goals that I have also is to make sure that more people understand something about the Kimberley Process. I will freely admit that at the moment, I am not the world’s greatest expert on the process – again, two weeks in the chair. Nonetheless, I think it’s important that more and more people ask questions, understand, and that we have an opportunity to communicate with everyone – the public, the media, civil society, industry, and governments.

I think that’s about all I want to say at the moment. Again, thank you for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to your questions.

Read More »

Rapaport Group Calls on Diamond Trade to Avoid Marange Diamonds

RapNet extends ban on Marange diamonds, will expel and name members violating policy.

RAPAPORT… PRESS RELEASE, November 22, 2011, New York: The Rapaport Group strongly opposes the recent decision of the Kimberley Process (KP) to allow for the immediate exports from the mining operations Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources in the Marange region of Zimbabwe.

We hereby publicly warn members of the diamond trade that the KP does not certify against human rights abuses and KP certification does not ensure that diamonds are not involved in human rights abuses. Furthermore:

1. There are persistent reports of human rights violations related to Marange diamonds.

2. In spite of KP certification these diamonds are under U.S., EU and U.K. government sanctions and are illegal for trade by U.S., EU and U.K. citizens and entities owned by them.

3. The funds generated from the sale of these diamonds are not properly accounted for. It is likely that they will be used to fund human rights violations in Zimbabwe.

The Rapaport Group calls on all ethical members of the diamond trade to cease and desist from the trading of Marange diamonds. In the event that firms insist on buying and producing them we demand that these Marange diamonds be separated from non-Marange diamonds so that they are not sold to U.S., EU or U.K. entities. We firmly believe that the mixing of Marange diamonds with non-Marange diamonds and their subsequent sale to U.S., EU or U.K. entities without disclosure is unethical and illegal. We demand that firms selling Marange diamonds do so with full disclosure, similar to the disclosure requirements for treated diamonds.

RapNet – Rapaport Diamond Trading Network continues to ban the trading of any diamonds sourced from Marange, Zimbabwe even if such diamonds have KP certification. Members found to have knowingly offered Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet will be expelled and their names will be publicly communicated. RapNet will be publishing new trading rules and ethical guidelines in the near future.

The Rapaport Group warns the diamond trade that continued sourcing and legitimization of diamonds involved in human rights abuses threatens the integrity and reputation of all diamonds. Diamond trade organizations particularly those promoting responsible trade and those serving in the U.S., EU and U.K. trade should immediately issue clear guidelines banning all their members from trading Marange diamonds. We believe it is unethical for trade organizations to refrain from clearly banning the trade in illegal Marange diamonds under the guise of supporting the KP.

Learn more about Conflict Diamonds and the difference you can make at The Greener Diamond.

‘We no longer want anything from anybody’: Zimbabwean minister’s vow as regulators allow country to trade diamonds

 Zimbabwe ‘will no longer be begging for anything from anybody’, according to its mining minister, after international diamond regulators agreed to let it trade some $2billion (£1.25billion) in diamonds from a field where human rights groups say miners have been tortured.

Earlier this week, experts from the Kimberley Process – which is a certification scheme to ensure diamonds don’t come from conflict or human rights abuses – meeting in Congo agreed to allow Zimbabwe to sell diamonds from the Marange fields.

Zimbabwe, which has denied allegations of human rights abuses in the area, had been under sanctions since 2009 because of ‘significant noncompliance.’

Lucrative: Miners dig for diamonds in Marange, Zimbabwe

The Kimberley Process was set up in 2002 after brutal wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia that were fuelled by ‘blood diamonds.’

The 60,000-hectare (140,000-acre) Marange field in eastern Zimbabwe was discovered in 2006 at the height of Zimbabwe’s political, economic and humanitarian crisis. It is believed to be the biggest find in the world since the 19th century, and it triggered a chaotic diamond rush.

Last year, the Kimberley Process declared two shipments of stones from the Zimbabwe mines conflict-free, backing off from a ban and allowing 900,000 carats of diamonds to be auctioned.

The latest move allows all diamonds from the area to be sold. The stockpile of Marange diamonds – some 4.5 million stones, is valued at around $2 billion.

‘We are going to shock the world. We are going to unleash our worthiness,’ Mining Minister Obert

Rich pickings: Zimbabwe is allowed to sell over £1.2billion-worth of diamonds

Mpofu told reporters today. ‘Zimbabwe will no longer be begging for anything from anybody.’

Human Rights Watch has accused Zimbabwean troops of killing more than 200 people, raping women and forcing children to search for the gems in Marange fields.

Mike Davis, a human rights activist from Global Witness told The Associated Press today that the decision was a ‘disappointing conclusion’ to the issue.

‘Violence is still going on and smuggling, providing revenue for the ruling elite,’ Davis said.

He said Zimbabwe also had not met some conditions, such as removing military troops from the area and allowing small-scale diamond miners to operate there as well.

Opposition politicians also say there is rampant theft in the Marange diamond fields by forces loyal to long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwean politician Eddie Cross said he has received death threats from Mugabe’s security agents after he testified before parliament about millions of dollars in diamond profits that he said already could not be accounted for.

By Ted Thornhill (Source)