Expectations for Action on Venezuela at Upcoming KP Meeting

Calls for the immediate expulsion of Venezuela from the Kimberley Process are expected to be heard again during the KP’s plenary meeting in Brussels next month, though immediate action may not be taken.

Venezuela has been accused of mass rough diamond smuggling, with the government choosing to not enforce KP regulations.

According KP Chair Karel Kovanda, expelling the South American country will not be supported “by a consensus in the KP.”

The desire to arrive at decisions with unanimous support is preventing a decision, and subsequent action, against Venezuela. In recent months it became clear that the main opposition is coming from the Russians, insiders told IDEX Online.

“The approach based on dialogue was considered indispensable in order to guarantee due process, and offers opportunities for Venezuela to constructively engage with the KP,” Kovanda told IDEX Online.

“Moreover, I feel this approach offers a real possibility for addressing - even identifying - the difficulties on the ground, which can only be fruitfully addressed with the cooperation of Venezuelan authorities themselves. Hence expulsion should be viewed as the very last resort, to be used only when it becomes completely and absolutely clear that all other options have been exhausted,” Kovanda added.

He noted that some progress has been achieved, notably with releasing trade and production statistics, which are currently being analyzed and assessed.

Why are the Russians allowing this gap in the system is unclear. It is clear, though, that time to forego the exclusivity of the unanimity has come, some say and a decisive decision on this issue is being called for by a number of participants.

Kovanda told IDEX Online that Venezuela is expected to present evidence of compliance with the KP during the November 5-8 meeting.

The plenary, hosted by the European Commission, expects participants to agree on a number of decisions and recommendations, including:

• Improvements of the peer review system,
• Measures to enhance the application procedure for would-be participants,
• Strengthening the role of technology and identification techniques in support of monitoring,
• Providing greater funding and technical assistance in support of KP effectiveness,
• Further improvements of transparency of statistics,
• Further developments of the KP’s internal rules and procedures.  

Some 300 delegates from governments, industry and civil society will review the year’s progress and decide on future directions to combat conflict diamonds.