KP’s Lingering Relevancy

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) chair and relevant Working Monitoring Committee has been bending over backwards to find excuses for not suspending Zimbabwe from its membership. Suspension for Zimbabwe means the country cannot not officially export rough diamonds to country in the world.

Part of the reluctance, which I have shared previously, specifically stems from the Rio Tinto Murowa diamond mine, a mine which greatly contributes to thousands of employees, their families and the wider communities in which they operate. Suspending Zimbabwe from the KP would mean that Murowa could no longer export its diamonds. Rio Tinto isn’t likely to run the risk of stockpiling production within Zimbabwe and would have no choice but to close. Mine closure is not a desired outcome.

However in the past few months, the Zimbabwe issue has become a test case for KP resolve and for its decision-making process. The issue isn’t just Zimbabwe; it is the KP. How long will the KP chair and Monitoring Committee resist what appears to be the opinion of the overwhelming majority –Zimbabwe must be expelled.  

Previously, there had been an argument reasoning that the Zimbabwe government is unable to restore order to the Marange alluvial mining areas where torture, looting, forced labor and even murders are common place.  Suspending Zimbabwe would only harm the Murowa production while not changing anything in practice on the ground in the areas involved.

That argument doesn’t hold true anymore. The mounting evidence suggests that most of the atrocities are conducted by the government-controlled army. The evidence has become overwhelming and irrefutable. For example, when, in October 2008, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government sent the military to the Marange diamond fields to violently take control of illicit mining activity, the army killed some 200 miners in the process, according to credible NGO reports.

Demands by the KP for the military forces to withdraw from the diamond areas have been left unanswered; lame excuses are given. Mining Minister Obert Mpofu claims that there are ongoing talks to attract a foreign investor to the diamond field areas, and that once the deal is done, the investor would have to secure the area by themselves. That’s ridiculous – and a proven formula for more bloodshed. It is almost as if Zimbabwe’s government wants to “privatize” the task of restoring law and order, a task which is nearly impossible in a country that has neither.

Foreign Investors: Be Careful!

Moreover, bringing in new foreign investors will lead to court actions by other claim owners. It is reminiscent of the war days in the DRC, where various parties claimed to own exploitation rights on the very same deposits. In the current mess, one of the players is the AIM-listed African Consolidated Resources (ACR), which claims ownership to several parts of the Marange area. ACR, headed by a white Zimbabwean, is increasingly pictured by the government as being part of the problem rather than a part of the solution. The company states that mine ownership issues need to be resolved before any formal mining can proceed, thereby KP compliance can be attained.

Within the KP, there is an unmanageable “culture of consensus,” and so far several southern African members, led by South Africa, have blocked the suspension of Zimbabwe. So while KP’s visiting teams now are recommending the suspension of Zimbabwe, one should expect continued delays and further attempts to “give the government a chance.”

I don’t believe that any formal decisive action is imminent. The Zimbabwe government, so far, rejected claims of human rights abuse at Marange. At the same time, the government argues that calls for a ban on Zimbabwean diamonds are unjustified, “because the country was neither at war nor involved in an armed conflict.”

Zimbabwe’s Suspension: the Better of Bad Options

But pressure on the KP to do something is increasingly mounting. This pressure is being exerted by other members, NGOs and even the international diamond industry represented by the World Diamond Council. There is talk, for example of a symbolic six-month suspension, which, on its own, will solve nothing. We have argued in our columns that nothing can be gained from Zimbabwe’s suspension from the KP – as it will neither stop the smuggling nor end atrocities and will only hurt Murowa’s stakeholders.

But now the issue has changed. Politics have evolved in such a way that not expelling Zimbabwe is no longer a viable option. Lack of action will damage both KP and the diamond industry and may impact consumer confidence.

Sadly, what happens in Zimbabwe seems gradually less important than what actually takes place within the KP. The inability of the organization to act firmly is quickly eroding whatever credibility it has been left with. The industry fears that the KP will no longer be seen by consumers as the “guarantee” that diamonds in the market are not “blood diamonds.”

The NGO, Global Witness, stated it accurately “This is a litmus test for the scheme's credibility. If member governments fail to take prompt and effective action by suspending Zimbabwe, consumer confidence will be seriously shaken, which will be a blow for diamond exporting countries and the industry alike.”

The situation on the ground is exceedingly complex. Don’t expect an early suspension of Zimbabwe from the KP. But if it were to happen, it would not change anything in the mining areas – except for pushing Rio Tinto to close their Murowa mine. If the government were to remove its armed forces from the Marange fields, the soldiers and generals would be back in dressed in different clothes, and they would continue their lucrative diamond business. And should a miracle happen, and somehow law and order were to be restored, investors and claim holders would continue to duel in court rooms.

The mess is gigantic. The KP will not make any difference – it lost its chance. The organization seems to have outlived its own usefulness but may postpone its own demise by acting decisively now.