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Mr Eli Izhakoff, Chairman
World Diamond Council
580 Fifth Ave., New York, NY
USA 10036
Email: Eli@diamondsview.com
Mr Abbey Chikane
Chairman, South African Diamond Board
Chairman of the Kimberley Process Meetings
240 Commissioner St.,
Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
Email: kimberleyprocess@foreign.gov.za
Dear Mr Izhakoff, Mr Chikane,
On behalf of the jewellers in the Netherlands I would like to express my concern regarding the issue of conflict diamonds and the role of the industry in the struggle against these gems entering the legitimate trade.
To guarantee our customers that the diamonds they buy have not fuelled brutal wars in Africa, a trustworthy certification system is essential. Therefore I fully support the Kimberley process, and hope that an agreement will be reached by December 2001.
However, an agreement in principle on certification is not enough. For a control mechanism to be trustworthy, elements such as independent monitoring of the system are crucial.
Therefore I ask you, as you are negotiating on my behalf, to ensure that the following issues will be dealt with in the Final Certification System agreement:
Primarily, the diamond industry must commit to an independently audited and verified chain of warranties. Secondly, governments must agree to a credible, independent international inspection system to review their compliance with agreed international standards of control. Thirdly, I would like to emphasise that governments as well as the diamond industry should agree on the publication of standardised diamond production and import/export figures. Of course there needs to be a standardised certification system for all diamonds shipments.
Finally, I would like to express my concern about the fact that in the past two years the diamond industry has not thrown out any members of the trade who are knowingly involved in buying conflict diamonds. Can you tell me why there have been no arrests at all?
Hoping to have expressed clearly my concerns, and hoping for a fruitful Kimberley Meeting, I would like to emphasise once again that little time is left to come to an agreement,
Yours sincerely,
[ signature jeweller ]
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