A Call for Justice, or Dealing with Murder is Not in Our Job Description

Zimbabwe won't leave us alone. You may be tired of hearing about it, you may even want to ignore it, but like a bad case of an exotic infection, if we won't take care of it, it will only get worse.

There is no love in the West for the Mugabe regime or for the leadership of his army. They are corrupt, vicious and violent. No one wants to reward their foul and horrible acts with diamond riches. Not even their African neighbors who are acting as their supporters so far.

Making things worse, the government of Zimbabwe does not miss an opportunity to further alienate itself with its continued maddening acts of hooliganism and repeated statements that it would do as it wishes, and damn be the Kimberley Process (KP) and the world.

Standing opposite that hard-line approach are the NGOs, demanding that Zimbabwe will be removed from KP, or at the very least, that exports of goods from Marange will not be allowed until the army is removed from the area and acts of human right abuses in the country are stopped.

In Praise of Gray
If each side will stick to its approach, viewing the issue as only right or wrong and us or them, we will not make any progress, deadlocked in uncompromising positions.

Behind the scenes there has been some talk of turning the whole issue over to the UN's Security Council. It may be a good way to go, admitting that the KP does not have the power, indeed it was not designed to have the power, to resolve issues of this kind. The UN can decide on sanctions. However, with Russia and China likely to block any move against Zimbabwe, turning to the Security Council may not work out.

But why are we looking at this as a black or white issue? No one opposes the possible benefits the citizens of Zimbabwe may enjoy from mining diamonds. There are many shades of gray in there, and the closer we look at this beautiful and miserable country, the more it becomes obvious that one sided actions are ignoring too much.

Off the record, almost all KP members – country representatives included - say that they are willing to reach a compromise. That is a good start. But how can we break out of the current paradigm?

Diamonds and Murder Do Not Live Well Together
Let's be honest. The key issue is not diamonds. The key issue is a moral issue of murders, rapes and thefts - and we need to address that first. But dealing with issues of mass murders is no business for KP. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the UN, and its role is to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies. It is far better equipped to deal with mass murders then the KP. It did so in the Balkans and West Africa.

It is time for a different kind of approach to the Zimbabwe "issue." One that investigates mass murders such as those committed in Sierra Leone, or of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Such an investigation, followed by a trial of accused murderers and perpetrators will do justice with the victims of the Marange fields attack.

And the diamonds? With justice under way, commercial activity of all kind will be restored. We know that from experience – in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other former hot spots.

Next week the KP is convening in Israel to discuss, among other things, Zimbabwe's diamond exports from Marange. Maybe we should take the opportunity and distance the diamond industry even further from murder, and let some other international body deal with Marange.

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