Zimbabwe Group to Lead KP Civil Society

RAPAPORT…
The Civil Society Coalition (CSC) of the Kimberley Process
(KP) has appointed the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) as its leader, according to a statement on the KP website.

ZELA will take over the leadership from Impact — formerly Partnership Africa
Canada —
which left the Kimberley Process in December, claiming the organization was
ineffective in policing the diamond supply chain.

The CSC made the decision at a meeting in Antwerp
last month, which World Diamond Council (WDC) president Stéphane Fischler and KP chair Hilde Hardeman also attended. Other discussions at the meeting included the coalition’s
continued participation in the KP, the effects of diamond mining on local
communities, and human-rights violations.

“The coalition is deeply concerned that the Kimberley
Process continues to ignore the human cost of diamond mining and trade,” the CSC said.

The coalition reiterated that its concerns had been
“largely ignored” by the KP. It also expressed hope that the new leadership of the KP for 2018, under the European Union’s stewardship, would help champion the CSC’s cause.