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Guidance for choosing

Kimberley Certificate

The Kimberley Process is an international certification agreement, legitimized by the will of the diamond producing States to stop the trade with the so-called “blood diamonds”. The agreement originates from a conference held in Kimberley, South Africa, in May 2000.

The congress, announced with the aim of ensuring that the profits made from the sale of the diamonds do not finance the purchase of arms by the rebel movements, was preparatory to the historic resolution adopted by the UN. In fact,  in December of the same year, the UN adopt a resolution in support of the creation of a protocol that certifies the ethical provenance of diamonds.

At the end of a fervent debate, between the 4th and the 5th of November 2002, 37 States have signed an agreement in Interlaken (ZAF) that establishes the requirements for the control of the production and trade of rough diamonds.

The Kimberley Process (KP) is open to all countries that are able to implement the minimum participation requirements. Currently there are 54 members, representing 81 countries, with the European Union and its Member States, who are counted as a single participant. KP members represent about 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds.

Moreover, the World Diamond Council, which represents the entire diamond trade chain from producer to retailer, and civil society organizations, participates in the KP and has played an important role since its beginning.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) therefore establishes a Community certification and an import-export control system for rough diamonds; the regulation essentially imposes three requisites, so that the producing countries can be considered as  members and can certify to be trading rough diamonds “conflict free”:

• the proceeds from the sale of diamonds coming from that country are not intended to finance civil wars or the purchase of weapons by warring factions
• each exported diamond is accompanied by a certificate attesting to its ethical provenance and compliance with the Kimberley Process’s key points
• no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member country.

The countries taking part in the KP, observers from the World Diamond Council and civil society meet twice a year at intersessional and plenary meetings. Implementation is monitored through annual reports as well as cyclical exchanges and analysis of statistical data.