(jckonline.com) - Despite calls from the Ukraine’s KP rep and a handful of Western countries to label Russian diamonds as “conflict,” the certification scheme declined even to take up the matter at its June intersessional in Gaborone, Botswana. While substantive action on that topic was never expected, the KP’s generally static nature has led normally supportive governments to question its continued relevance. At the Initiatives in Arts and Culture’s gold and diamond conference, held July 18–20 in New York City, I spoke with World Diamond Council (WDC) president Edward Asscher (pictured) about that and related issues. The WDC represents the industry in front of the KP. Not everyone will agree with what Asscher—or I—say here. While Asscher is far less of a KP skeptic than I am, we both agreed that it only guarantees certain things, and concerned companies should look beyond its rather limited scope. And his mention of a possible “KP 2” was surprising.
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