President of the World Diamond Council (WDC) Feriel Zerouki has urged the participants of the Kimberley Process (KP) Intersessional meeting to list the countries of mining origin on the KP certificates to secure confidence in diamonds.
“The industry is moving forward with traceability and will complement these efforts by pioneering the technologies we have invested in,” Zerouki said.
She also stressed the importance of diverse views shared by a wide range of community members from across the global supply chain with the delegates of the meeting.
“These insights will not only enrich our discussion on the expansion of the definition of conflict diamonds, but also on critically important issues of development, and will help us appreciate a fuller and more compelling natural diamond story,” she added.
“We would like to see more engagements moving forward.”
The introduction of an Ad Hoc Plenary session during the current Intersessional meeting is a departure from the regular practice, but a welcome one, WDC said in a statement.
“This is significant because, for the first time in the history of the KP, it will be possible to make decisions mid-year and, thereby, push for progress during this important ‘Year of Delivery,’”Zerouki stated.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
