WDC | Mines to Market

Following the Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Meeting that was held in New Delhi, India, on November 18 to 22, 2019, World Diamond Council (WDC) implications of the agreement at the gathering by KP member countries to restructure the Operational Framework System created for the Central African Republic (CAR), while maintaining the current strict monitoring of exports. The statement maintains that the objective of the restructuring of the Operational Framework System (OFS) is to encourage the increase of legal exports from CAR, by improving the efficiency of the Operational Framework System. WDC also asserts that it is a provisional modification that is valid for one year. Its effectiveness will be assessed by the Kimberley Process during 2020 The CAR government will be allowed to issue KP certificates to rough diamond shipments at will, for goods being sourced in the eight currently approved green zones, under the revised Operational Framework System. This is different from what has been done until now, where KP certificates could only be issued after obtaining approval from the CAR Monitoring Team (CAR MT) prior to each export. However, the CAR MT will continue to monitor all legal exports from the country. The CAR Government, which is responsible for securing the local supply chain, including buying houses and cooperatives, remains obliged to provide comprehensive information about rough diamond exports under its purview on a monthly basis. The CAR MT will cross-check copies of all KP export certificates received from the CAR government against the confirmations of imports of the corresponding shipments, which will be supplied by the authorities in the importing countries/trading centers. The new Operational Framework System shifts some of the burdens of verifying the provenance of the goods to the trading centers. While it is government-sanctioned authorities that will be responsible for supplying confirmations of imports of rough diamonds from the CAR, members of the trade are urged to practice enhanced vigilance when handling rough diamonds believed to have originated from the country. This should be done by ensuring that import shipments from CAR only include goods that have been sourced from the approved green zones, and always are accompanied by a duly authorized CAR Government KP certificate. Importers seeking to ensure transparency are encouraged by the KP to provide the CAR MT with confirmation of shipments of diamonds imported from the country. The statement also says that a recent UN report provided the identities of foreign diamond traders suspected of operating illegally in CAR. Their names have been forwarded to local law enforcement authorities for further investigation. Any additional questions about CAR diamond shipments should be directed to the KP Focal Point in the country where the diamond industry member operates.

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