According to the Review Mission’s final report submitted at the Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting in Namibia this week, it has “concerns” with Zimbabwe’s compliance with KP’s minimum requirements.

 

The report states that steps to export rough diamonds from Zimbabwe are complex and involve at least five separate government agencies and concludes that the system for internal controls does not effectively capture all diamond production at Marange.

 

It further details mass smuggling and “has judged that certain entities within the Government of Zimbabwe are directly involved with the removal of rough diamonds from the Marange area.”

 

After detailing diamond production figures and the value of goods from Zimbabwe’s three diamond mines - Murowa, Marange and River Ranch - it states that “KP statistics indicate discrepancies with two trading partners: the European Community in 2007 and 2008, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2008.”

 

It found a gap of 205,845 carats (30% of the total production) in 2007, and 470,084 carats (59% of the total production) in 2008.

 

During its visit to the Marange area, members of the Team observed soldiers using civilians to conduct illegal diamond-mining activities and three Zimbabwe National Army personnel “overseeing the washing of diamond gravel by illegal diamond miners.”

 

The Team received consistent reports that diamonds from Marange “generally exit Zimbabwe through the nearby border with Mozambique, where significant illicit buying and trading operations are underway.”

 

They also collected first hand witness accounts of killings and extreme violence against illegal miners as well heard testimonies of rapes. The team saw dog bite scars on victims and heard reports of “rampant use of violent dogs by the Zimbabwean security forces.”

 

The Team found that not all rough diamond shipments are accompanied by KP certificates. “The involvement of government entities in these flows, rather than solely the usual black market actors, should result in direct implication of the overall system of internal controls that Zimbabwe is responsible for. That is, the Team judges that the smuggling operation out of Marange should be deemed to be ‘on the account of’ Zimbabwe itself.

 

The Review Team’s first recommendation is a demand that the Government of Zimbabwe will acknowledge its non-compliance and voluntary suspend itself from rough diamond trading until KP determines that minimum standards have been met.

 

The Team believes it critical that coordinated action be taken by other KP Participants in the region – particularly South Africa, Namibia and Botswana – to act against smuggling.

 

It finally recommend the Participation Committee to consider the full range of options set forth in the Interim Measures Guidelines, including suspension of Zimbabwe for a period of at least six months, or until such time as a KP team determines that minimum requirements have been met.