Russia completed its chairmanship of the Kimberley Process (KP) at the final plenary meeting held in Moscow on November 8-12 in an in-person and online format. 116 delegates attended, and another 390 connected online, which became an absolute record for the number of participants in the entire history of KP plenary sessions. Zimbabwe will take over as KP vice chairman in 2022 and chairman in 2023.
The KP session created subgroups on KP certificates digitalization - which was a priority of the Russian chairmanship - under the working group of diamond experts in the KP framework. In the future, an electronic exchange is planned to be established with all EAEU member states within the framework of common supranational legislation and harmonization of internal regulatory mechanisms, including with India and the UAE, key trading partners for the Russian diamond industry.
Another priority of the Russian chairmanship was the entry of new members into the KP: a decision was made to admit the State of Qatar, the Republic of Mozambique and the Kyrgyz Republic (the only EAEU member country, which has not yet been represented in the KP), into the KP. The Ministry of Finance of Russia plans to initiate the creation in 2022 of a single EAEU delegation to strengthen the position of the Union member states in the KP. It was also decided to conduct a KP review mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2022, the only KP member country from which the export of rough natural diamonds is restricted.
The session also adopted the Declaration “On the Principles for Responsible Sourcing of Rough Natural Diamonds” (“Frame 7”), developed by Russia together with Botswana, the chairman of the KP in 2022, which accounts for more than 55% of world diamond production. The document contains seven principles: support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, protection of human rights, labor rights and the environment, industry self-regulation standards and others.
As a result of Russia's chairmanship of the KP, a number of initiatives were also implemented that contribute to the strengthening of the KP, and a technical guide was prepared to promote the ASSURE program as a best practice for dividing the markets for natural and synthetic diamonds.
The results achieved will make it possible to adequately present Russia's achievements at the UN General Assembly and will be reflected in its resolution "The role of diamonds in fueling conflicts", which is scheduled to be adopted in 2022.
Galina Semyonova for Rough&Polished
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