KP Conference Ends at an Impasse on Zimbabwe's Marange

The 2010 Kimberley Process Intersessional ended a day late at what can only be described as a resonating failure. Presided over by Israel as Chair, the conference agenda was dominated by the issue of the exports of diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields.

After twists of hope and disappointment, hard work and little sleep, the many sides of the KP were not able to find a common ground.

At the heart of the issue was the report of the KP monitor to Zimbabwe, Abby Chikane, who gave his approval that the African country met the minimum requirements set by the KP in November 2009.

Civil Society representatives, the Non-Governmental Organizations represented by Global Witness, Partnership Africa-Canada (PAC) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), took an opposing position, stating that contrary to the Monitor’s reports, Zimbabwe has met the minimum requirements, stating that the Zimbabwe army is still present in the region, contrary to prior agreements.

Continued talks between country representatives, the diamond industry and the NGOs, the three pillars of the KP system, neared an agreement on Wednesday afternoon but stumbled over an issue raised by one of the sides that caused an uproar among delegates and set the discussions back to its initial position of confrontation. The sides were tight lipped about the topic; with a few saying the suggestion was a big mistake by the suggesting party.

The sides decided to continue talks into the night, adjourning only at 5 am, and continued on Thursday, giving the conference an extra day. At 6 pm Israel it became clear that the divide is too wide, and that an agreement won’t be reached.

In its concluding statement, the KP said that on the agenda of the meeting were a number of initiatives relating to the on-going work of the KP and to the consolidation of the process such the creation of an office for administration and support and the establishment of a Working Group on Trade Facilitation. The center of attention, however, was the KP minimum standards implementation in the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.

“The meeting was clouded by the arrest of NGO activist Farai Mguwu by the Zimbabwean authorities three weeks earlier and the reports of his condition.”

According to Hirsch, “This situation is unprecedented in the Kimberley Process meeting, but all parties are committed to further engagement.”

Talks are scheduled to continue during the WDC Annual Meeting, to be held on July 14-15 in St. Petersburg. “Deliberations will continue in order to find a consensus based resolution,” Hirsch added.

Israel will host the KP Plenary Meeting in Jerusalem on November 1-4.