Don't Give Up on the Jerusalem Agreement

The hoped for Jerusalem Agreement was not reached today and the 2010 Kimberley Process Plenary closed without a decision on Zimbabwe's exports. It's a shame but at the same time I feel a reserved optimism in the air.

The road to this yet-to-be-reached-agreement started as a bumpy one. The review mission was deeply divided over the report, which caused its delayed submission – the final draft was agreed upon only during the first day of the Plenary. And as we have previously reported, there are no recommendations in it. In fact, the agreed upon report was changed in the last minute by the Americans, which caused an uproar.

The debate was so bitter that some delegates arrived in Jerusalem with the idea of nullifying the Joint Work Plan agreed on at the Swakopmund meeting last year and simply bring everyone back to square one by killing the last year of Zimbabwe related activities.

If you think that was wild, consider the watershed of emails I got in the 24 hours after IDEX Online reported that there are no recommendations. The second most common question (after what's next) was "Is KP dead?" No, it isn't. The fact that Zimbabwe's exports take place only when KP approves them is testimony to its strength.

The reason for optimism is a surprising turn of events at the meeting. the U.S. and Zimbabwean delegations set quietly together and have hammered out an agreement that both can live with. Proof that when there is a will there is a way.

This will is important. After the agreement was put on paper (actually a non-paper, a diplomatic tool to write down ideas together without having to officially commit to them) and circulated, all but two members objected to them: The Canadians and Australians, joined by NGOs. There are two versions to the Canadian response. Officially, the Canadians gave three reasons for not saying yes: 1) reports that six Canadile executives were arrested in Zimbabwe over fraud charges; 2) a desire to see exports supervised and 3) a need to get their government's approval. Unofficially, some said they were miffed for not being part of the direct negotiations and were presented with a de-facto agreement without having any say in it during the drafting stage.

It is because of that that good will is important. The Plenary adjourned without an agreement, deciding that talks will continue over the next few days by phone and teleconferencing.

Not all is rosy. The review mission report states that "Overall, however, there is still some way to go to achieve full compliance with the minimum standards of the KPCS in the Marange diamond fields and also for the Government to honour all of the commitments it has made (…)." This is an obstacle that needs to be addressed.

The Americans very much want to chair KP in 2012. They decided to not apply until the Zimbabwe exports are resolved and will apply only when that happens.

One of the delegates told me that the Zimbabwe issue overshadowed important achievements. He is right. The Plenary agreed to advance the permanent secretariat and the trade facilitation body. The demand for greater transparency led to a decision to resolve that too.

Jerusalem is thousands of years old. It was the site of bitter wars. Important historical events that changed the course of history took place here and great divisions hold tight to its old stones. Yet somehow, that beautiful and ancient city, with its great mystique and unusual air, harbors enormous hope. Anyone who ever visited Jerusalem is struck by that immediately.

In the past there were vendors that offered sealed bottles of "Holy Air" to visiting tourists. Let's hope that as they left the city back for their respective countries, delegates took with them an air of hope. Let's hope they use it to reach a good Jerusalem Agreement, one that will let us all move forward in a way that is fair for all.