KP Plenary Pushes Updated ‘Conflict Diamond’ Definition

Efforts to modernize the definition of “conflict diamond” continued at the Kimberley Process (KP) plenary, which is ongoing in Dubai this week.

World Diamond Council (WDC) president Feriel Zerouki urged participants to support a modernized definition of the term at the 2025 plenary opening, the organization said Monday. The process of coming to an agreement has involved more than three years of research and negotiations.

The KP plenary is hosting representatives from 86 participating governments as well as from the WDC, the Civil Society Coalition and the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA).  

Throughout the week of the conference, which ends on Saturday, the delegates will evaluate the work of the KP working groups, discuss proposals to broaden the definition of conflict diamond, and tackle key governance, monitoring, and compliance matters essential to maintaining the integrity of the global rough-diamond trade.

“Today, we stand together at a crossroads,” Zerouki said. “Will participants choose to move the Kimberley Process forward, or will some choose to hold it back?… We are at the line. Let us have the courage and unity to cross it.”

Zerouki, whose term as WDC president will end in May 2026, emphasized that a broader definition would safeguard 1.5 million artisanal diamond miners and allow the KP to act where communities are at risk.

Image: Feriel Zerouki at the Kimberley Process plenary. (World Diamond Council)