by eyetee | May 21, 2013 3:40 pm
The World Diamond Council (WDC) and Kimberley Process (KP) have signed a memorandum of understanding that will establish a permanent administrative support mechanism (ASM).
WDC president Eli Izhakoff made the announcement in a plenary session at the group’s annual meeting in Tel Aviv.
“There are some who may consider that, with the ASM, the structure we are establishing is incongruous,” Izhakoff said. “For it is a permanent civil service that is operated by private industry to support the operation of the Kimberley Process, which at the national level is government-operated. In effect, it is the regulated working with the regulators to assist in their regulation.
“But for those who are veterans of the Kimberley Process, this is not an unusual situation at all. The Kimberley Process, which is administered and enforced by national governments, is designed to defend the integrity of a chain of distribution that is inherently international. It is we, the industry, which make it international, linking those various countries to one another. We have a vested interest in making the system work, and the system will not work without us.”
The announcement is a step forward in what has been an ongoing discussion to overhaul the KP.
The permanent administrative support mechanism will provide logistic, organizational, and communications support to the KP on an ongoing basis. Four WDC members will be responsible for its establishment and operation. They are: Israel Diamond Institute (IDI), Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the Antwerp World Diamond Center, and the Diamond House of the Government of Ghana.
Critics of the diamond certification scheme have long called for an administrative support mechanism.
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