The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) announced that three African governments have made financial contributions to its work, according to press release e-mailed to Rough&Polished.
The Diamond Development Initiative is registered as a non-profit charitable organization in both Canada and the United States.
The governments of Angola and of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have each made contributions to DDI's work in the artisanal diamond mining sector.
There are an estimated 1.5 million artisanal diamond miners in Africa. Most work on their own in the informal sector, and most earn less than a dollar a day. Collectively they support an additional 7.5 million family members. They work in unsafe and difficult circumstances. Many are children. Artisanal mining areas are where conflict diamonds originated, and they remain volatile. DDI has programs aimed at ending child labour and bringing miners into the formal sector where working conditions and incomes can be improved. It is developing human rights training programs and a "development diamond" project that will use independent third party monitoring to track diamonds from ethical mine sites through to the jewellery retail sector.
DDI works closely with African governments on these projects and in the Kimberley Process where industry, civil society and governments seek to ensure that conflict diamonds cannot again recur.
"DDI has a special place in the Kimberley Process," said Martin Kabwelulu, Minister of Mines, Democratic Republic of Congo. "It has a unique development mandate on the ground in Africa, one that no other development organization is tackling. DDI's work is important to my country, to artisanal diamond miners and to the communities in which they work. We are pleased to provide a small token of our support and confidence in what DDI is doing."
"I believe that African governments must be partners in helping to solve the problems we are addressing," said Dorothée Gizenga, DDI's Executive Director. "I have long believed that funding for these projects should not come entirely from the North. To my very pleasant surprise, Angola, DRC and Guinea were the first to respond in a constructive and meaningful way. We hope and fully expect that others will join the lead that DRC and Angola have shown."
Olga Patseva, Editor in Chief of the American Bureau, Rough&Polished
Exclusive
Sarine’s David Block: Diamond Industry at Standstill Until Chinese Demand Returns
David Block is CEO of Israel’s Sarine Technologies and has served in the position since 2012. In this exclusive interview for Rough and Polished, Block gives his opinion on the leading issues affecting today’s diamond trade.
Today
Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge: Demand for considerable-sized diamonds stronger than ever
The African Diamond Council (ADC) chairperson Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that although overall global diamond prices have been somewhat soft, the demand for considerable-sized diamonds...
02 september 2024
Amplats sees prospects as a standalone company
Anglo has revealed its plans to demerge Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to optimise shareholder value. Rough&Polished contacted Amplats to comment on this and other issues but was referred...
19 august 2024
WFDB President Yoram Dvash Remains Confident Despite Global Diamond Challenges
Yoram Dvash is President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) having been elected in 2020. He found time in his busy schedule to speak to Rough&Polished about the state of the diamond industry around the world and some of the major...
12 august 2024
Lyudmila Vysotskaya: Amber is a mystical stone, a living substance
Lyudmila Vysotskaya is a Kaliningrad-based amber artist and designer, expert, chairwoman of the Amber Academy and member of the Creative Union of Artists in Decorative and Applied Arts. This summer, visitors could admire the art works by Lyudmila Vysotskaya...
30 july 2024
