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.

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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)

* Target: Members of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), NGO observers to the KPCS, the World Jewellery Confederation, the Responsible Jewellery Council and all national and international Jewellers associations

 * Sponsored by: Global Palestine Solidarity

(N.B. if you sign the petition check that your signature is recorded. If it is not please let us know by clicking on the Global Palestine Solidarity link above)

Revenue from diamonds processed in Israel funds war crimes and crimes against humanity yet they are sold worldwide as conflict free diamonds.

Israel is the world’s leading diamond exporter, with exports valued at nearly $20 billion in 2008, accounting for over 30% of Israel’s exports. Revenue from the Israeli diamond industry generates approximately $1 billion annually in funding for the Israeli military/security industry, a military which stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to the UN based Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) only “rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments” can be classed as conflict or blood diamonds. Even though there is no legal or widely agreed definition of a conflict free diamond, jewellers, other vested interests in the diamond industry and some NGOs refer to all other diamonds as conflict free diamonds, regardless of what human rights violations they may be funding .

Approximately 50% of all gem-quality diamonds in dollar terms are processed in Israel. These de facto blood diamonds are sold worldwide as conflict free diamonds to unsuspecting consumers who are unaware that their purchase is funding gross human rights violations in Palestine.

The KPCS definition of a conflict or blood diamond must be urgently reviewed in order to include all diamonds that fund human rights violation.

Click Here and sign the petition to stop Israel and their suport of the Blood Diamond trade.

We the undersigned call upon members of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), NGO observers to the KPCS, the World Jewellery Confederation, the Responsible Jewellery Council and all national and international Jewellers associations to:

1. Seek an urgent review of the KPCS definition of a conflict or blood diamond so all diamonds that generate revenue used by any group or government to commit breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law are classed as conflict or blood diamonds.

2. End the unjustified and misleading use of the term “conflict free” to describe diamonds that do not meet the KPCS’s existing narrow definition of a conflict or blood diamond.

3. Support the call for the introduction of a universal hallmarking system for all diamonds so consumers can be fully informed where a diamond was mined, cut and polished.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. We hope you will give this matter urgent attention, mindful of the wellbeing of millions of people who suffer daily under Israel’s diamond-funded, military occupation and subjugation of Palestine.

Whether it is the surge of Conflict Diamonds  that entered the market last August 2010 (read here) or the more recent release of conflict diamonds this August 2011; the Kimberley Process has proven itself to be an illegitimate source for ensuring diamonds that are fee of human rights violations. So how do we go about solving the unethical issues involved in the harvesting of these conflict diamonds and the Kimberly Process’s lack of accountability and inability to regulate the mining of these conflict stones? What do we do now?

August 2011: Diamonds.net by RAPAPORT

After Kimberley…. What now?

RAPAPORT… By now it should be clear that a Kimberley Process (KP) certificate does not ensure a diamond is free of human rights violations or other serious ethical problems. In fact, a KP certificate does not even ensure that a diamond is legal for trade in the United States or European Union.
The recent release of over $200 million dollars of KP-certified Marange diamonds opens a Pandora’s Box of complex ethical, legal and financial issues that the diamond industry is struggling to address.

Questions abound. How does one deal with the fact that KP certificates are being issued for diamonds that violate U.S. sanction regulations and cannot be legally sold to U.S. companies?  How do you know that the diamonds you are buying were not involved in severe human rights violations? What if diamonds are “only” involved in funding repressive regimes that murder and torture political opponents? What about “unknown” diamonds from Angola, the Congo and Cote d’Ivoire? Are they okay? If you don’t buy “bad” diamonds – won’t someone else buy them for low prices and then compete with you?  If others are buying  — why should you miss out?

One fundamental question is:  Who is responsible for ensuring that the diamond industry is not promoting human rights violations through the purchase of diamonds?

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Only a few short months ago the Kimberly Process certified and allowed over 900,000 carats of documented conflict diamonds to enter the world market from Marange, Zimbabwe. Now, The Kimberly Process has chosen to allow yet another shipment of documented conflict diamonds despite objections from the USA, Canada and the European Union.

Zimbabwe Diamond Exports Approved Over Objections

JOHANNESBURG — Over strong opposition from the United States, Canada and the European Union, a global body tasked with preventing the trade in diamonds that fuels conflict has given Zimbabwe the go-ahead to export stones from rich fields that were violently seized by Zimbabwe’s military in 2008 and, according to civic groups, are still plagued by human rights abuses.
Related

Diamond Find Could Aid Zimbabwe, and Mugabe (June 22, 2010)
Decisions of the body known as the Kimberley Process are supposed to be made by consensus, according to its “core document” — a standard that has been interpreted to require unanimity among participating countries.

But in Zimbabwe’s case, the chairman of the Kimberley Process, Mathieu Yamba Lapfa Lambang of Congo, issued a brief notice Thursday night saying that the body had endorsed exports by two principal companies operating in Zimbabwe’s Marange fields, despite open opposition from some member nations. His notice said that monitors would have access to data about exports after they were shipped, but provided for no monitoring before the stones were exported.

“We have made a breakthrough,” Zimbabwe’s mining minister, Obert Mpofu, was quoted as saying in the state-controlled Herald newspaper on Friday. Mr. Mpofu, a vociferous supporter of Zimbabwe’s 87-year-old strongman, President Robert Mugabe, has long depicted efforts to impose tough monitoring requirements on Zimbabwe’s diamond exports as part of a Western ploy to enact “illegal regime change” in the country.

Zimbabwe has gotten strong support from other African countries for its drive to export Marange diamonds, but in the final meeting of the Kimberley Process on Thursday in Kinshasa, Congo, representatives of Canada and the European Union objected to the position the chairman advocated. An official from the United States raised a placard to speak but was not called on, according to a person close to the process who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the body’s confidential deliberations.

The State Department on Friday issued a statement saying it was “deeply disappointed” with the decision on Zimbabwe and noted that there had been no consensus among the participants.

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We can not believe it has happened! After years of knowing the dreadful conditions in which diamonds are mined in Zimbabwe. The Kimberley Process just certified approx. 900,000 carats of BLOOD DIAMONDS from Marange, Zimbabwe. This means these diamonds are now considered “clean”. These diamonds will be on the international diamond market within days and will be purchased by the unassuming diamond consumer soon after.  In case you’ve forgotten, Marange, Zimbabwe, is where government forces killed more than 200 people in a sting operation in November 2008. A Kimberley Process review team subsequently reported firsthand accounts from the period, including “women who reported that, while under the custody of the security forces, they were raped repeatedly by military officers and that they have been forced to engage in sex with illegal diamond miners.” Sound familiar? Murder, violence, rape, sexual slavery…

TRADE ALERT: Marange Diamonds

Rapaport strongly advises diamond buyers not to trade in KP-certified Marange diamonds.

RAPAPORT… August 12, 2010: The Kimberley Process (KP) has just certified approximately 900,000 carats of rough diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe. While the trading of Marange diamonds may be legal in certain jurisdictions, companies owning or selling the diamonds are sanctioned by the U.S., European Union (EU), and U.K. governments and the trading being conducted by citizens of these countries may be illegal.

Furthermore, the KP does not have a mandate to deny its certification for diamonds involved in human rights violations and there is no guarantee that diamonds with KP certifications are free of associations with human rights violations.

Rapaport strongly advises all diamond buyers not to trade in KP-certified diamonds from Marange and to request written assurance from their suppliers that their diamonds have not been sourced from Marange.

RapNet, the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, will not allow the trading of any diamonds sourced from Marange, Zimbabwe. Members found to have knowingly offered Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet will be expelled and their names will be publicly communicated.

For more information, visit www.diamonds.net/zimbabwe.

UPDATE (August 15, 2010) – Martin Rapaport has also written the following letter to RapNet members.

Dear RapNet members,

On August 11th 2010, the Kimberley Process certified approximately 900,000 carats of rough diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe. While the trading of these diamonds may be legal in certain jurisdictions it is illegal for U.S., E.U., or U.K. citizens or entities to knowingly trade these diamonds due to the fact that the companies owning or selling the diamonds are sanctioned by these governments.

Furthermore, it should be clear that the Kimberley Process (KP) does not have a mandate to deny its certification for diamonds involved in human rights violations and therefore there is no assurance that diamonds with KP certification are free of human rights violations.

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