23 Jun 2022

Botswana is expecting to host the Kimberly Process Working Group review team in August-September.

The team’s visit is a routine procedure to assess compliance of participating countries through review of the annual reports.

“The Kimberley Process review visits deals with issues relating to the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme by participants with a view to promote full and effective implementation by all participants,” Botswana Kimberly Process chairperson, Mr Jacob Thamage said in an interview on the sidelines  of the ongoing Kimberly Process Inter-sessional meeting in Kasane.

He said the review visits were processes within the Kimberly Process framework, which among other things monitored if the participating country had sufficient rough diamonds internal control structures and make necessary recommendations to address  certain difficulties that might endanger the integrity of the Kimberley Process.

Mr Thamage said it was pleasing to note that Botswana had during its turn as the current chair of the Kimberly process resuscitated some of the peer review mechanisms which were halted by the advent of COVID-19. 

He said the latest review visit to Zimbabwe in May was also the first under the revised peer review mechanism.

As an active member  of the Kimberly Process, Mr Thamage  said, Botswana upheld  Kimberly Process resolutions and was well aware of calls by the civil society for  review  the definition of conflict diamonds.

“We are well aware that the Kimberly Process Civil Society has long called for the expansion of the Kimberley Process’ conflict diamond definition to include diamonds associated with widespread or systematic violence and serious violations of human rights,” he said.

 He added that one of the appeals by the Kimberly Process Civil Society Coalition was for the Kimberly Process to adopt a serious and meaningful reform agenda that at minimum makes an end to the stifling consensus model and replace it with a more flexible decision-making.

Mr Thamage thus said Botswana was drafting all terms of references to fully support its stand on the plea made by the Civil Society, both on expanding the definition of the conflict diamonds and on the consensus decision making.

Meanwhile, the intersession rejected the Kimberly Process Civil Society’s plea for the suspension of Russian from the Kimberly Process and to stop certifying Russian diamonds as conflict-free until Russia unconditionally ends its aggression against Ukraine. ENDs