At Windhoek, Namibia over 200 delegates are meeting from Tuesday to review efforts in preventing diamonds from funding armed conflicts in developing countries.
The three day long meeting will be hosted by Namibia, which is currently heading the Kimberley Process.
The main aim of the meeting will be to further control the illegal diamond trade which has been fueling wars in developing countries. Many human rights groups have raised concern about possible violations of the Kimberley Process in countries such as Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Lebanon and Guinea .
According to AFP Annie Dunnebacke of the UK based Global witness said “the clock is running out on the credibility of the Kimberley Process”
The well known conflicts that were funded by diamonds include the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone
Presently the Kimberley has been signed by 75 countries. It covers over 99% of the worlds production of rough diamonds.
Under the Kimberley agreement whenever rough diamonds cross an international border they must be sealed in tamper proof containers and accompanied by conflict free certificates with unique serial numbers.
