A new United Nations report to the Security Council by the Group of Experts monitoring sanctions on the Ivory Coast has found that the
extraction of diamonds continues unabated in northern Côte d’Ivoire. The report describes this continued mining as ‘the foremost challenge facing the embargo on rough diamond exports from Côte d’Ivoire’, noting that the likelihood of their export in contravention of the embargo persists.
“Events outside Côte d’Ivoire have also posed challenges to the effectiveness of the embargo on Ivorian rough diamonds. Recent international attention to the case of Zimbabwe and its possible suspension from the Kimberley Process has arguably distracted Member States, participants in the Kimberley Process and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from devoting greater interest to the illegal trade in Ivorian rough diamonds,” notes the report.
The Group has expressed its concern with the lack of cooperation of certain Member States. In order to pursue its investigations effectively, the Group requires specific information from States that are actively involved in the diamond industry, particularly in confirming the identity of individuals responsible for breaches of the rough diamond embargo on Côte d’Ivoire.
Despite sending a number of letters, the Group has not received full responses from the Governments of Guinea, Israel, Mali and the United Arab Emirates. The Group is concerned because these Member States may be pivotally placed to provide information on diamond exports from Côte d’Ivoire. For example, both Mali and Guinea share borders with Côte d’Ivoire. These borders are inadequately controlled. In addition, there are regular flights operated by Emirates airline between Abidjan and Dubai, which is a major rough diamond trading centre. For its part, Israel is a significant rough diamond trading centre and the Group believes that the Israeli authorities could provide vital information relevant to the Group’s
investigations into the trade of Ivorian rough diamonds.
Related posts:
- World Diamond Council Calls for Increased Efforts by Kimberley Process Participants to Achieve Full Compliance in Zimbabwe
- Failure to Suspend Zimbabwe from Kimberley Process Undermines Efforts to Clean up International Trade
- Security Council Renews Diamond Trade Ban in Côte d’Ivoire
- Civil Society Calls for Kimberley Process Action Over Zimbabwe
- EU: Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting Further Strengthens International Efforts to combat trade with conflict diamonds
