Russia as Kimberley Process chair to help stabilize situation in CAR's diamond sector
MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - Russia, as chair of the Kimberley Process (KP), will help to stabilize the situation in the diamond sector of the Central African Republic (CAR), the Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Russia is keen to help the CAR government strengthen its diamond export controls and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the global supply chain.
A working group for the CAR has been set up under the KP, which should assess the possibility of making decisions on the compliance or non-compliance of individual regions of the CAR with the minimum requirements of the KP Certification Scheme. This will also make it possible to assess the outcomes of operation of the current mechanism for verifying diamond exports in the framework of the KP.
Diamonds from the CAR are currently under partial embargo. Exports are permitted from so-called green zones, which are controlled by the country's authorities. Russia previously said that this contributed to increased illegal diamond turnover from the CAR, the funds from which enrich the coffers of the militants. Returning revenue to the legal field will make it possible to raise the welfare of residents of the CAR working there.
KP is an international organization which has the goal of preventing the flow of conflict diamonds.
As KP chair, Russia will hold the Intersessional Meeting of KP working groups from June 21 to 25, 2021. The key topics will reflect the main initiatives of the Russian chairmanship, which are important for ensuring sustainable development of the entire global diamond sector, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement said.
A priority area for further work is the digitization of KP certificates, which accompany every export-import operation involving rough diamonds.
The KP still does not have a global digital platform for exchanging information, and introducing digital certificates themselves is a complex technological solution for the KP. "Russia has the required infrastructure and legislation that enables us to implement a similar project, if such a decision is taken by the KP. We are ready to share our experience. With this in mind, Russia intends to use our digital customs platform as a way to move forward with the digital exchange of KP certificates information with countries that import Russian diamonds," Deputy Russian Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev, who holds the post of KP chair, said.
As a best practice for the sector, KP participants plan to take the so-called principles of responsible diamond supplies as the basis.
"We hope the discussion on reaching a consensus in the matter of determining an updated version of the term 'conflict diamonds' will continue, because the topic is acquiring relevance as the diamond sector recovers following the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic," Moiseyev said.