At the Kimberley Process meeting in Mumbai, Ronnie VanderLinden emphasised the need to finalise reforms and highlighted the lack of consensus on last year's proposed changes.
Established in 2003, the process aims to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds, promote responsible sourcing, and uphold policy priorities of credibility, confidence, and compliance.
Currently, conflict diamonds are defined as rough diamonds used by rebel movements to fund wars against legitimate governments. Proposed reforms would expand this definition to include violence linked to non-state actors.
Additionally, some members at the previous year's plenary in Dubai advocated for the inclusion of violence by state actors. VanderLinden urged renewed efforts to advance reforms as industry and market conditions shift.
"We need to remind ourselves what this body is for. We are not here to solve global conflict; we are here to support confidence in natural diamonds," he said.
"That includes continuing our work on changing the definition of conflict diamonds to reflect the reality of today, agreeing on that new definition, and enshrining it in our core document."
VanderLinden also expressed concerns about lab-created diamonds and encouraged the industry to better convey the value of natural stones and their impact on mining communities.
"If we are not helping sell natural diamonds, we are not doing our job," he said.
"We have to understand what people expect from us today. It is no longer enough to say natural diamonds have value. We have to show it," said VanderLinden.
He added that the industry must communicate more effectively the origin, traceability, and economic impact of natural diamonds, including their contributions to employment, communities, and national economies.
More reading
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Kimberley Process critics highlight structural flaws
Conflict Diamonds: Kimberley Process fails to reach agreement yet again
‘Meaningful’ progress made in conflict diamond language debate
Diamond sanctions: Tensions mounting at Kimberley Process
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