WDC President Urges Governments to Support KP Reforms

(IDEX Online) - Stephane Fischler, President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), told government representatives at the 2019 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary Meeting that the future of the process depends on them.

During the address at the start of the Plenary Meeting in New Delhi, India, Fischer said that with the end of a three-year reform and review cycle, governments hold the future of the KP in their hands.

"Lives and livelihoods of individuals who rely on the work that we do together will be impacted by both your actions and inaction," he said.

"The WDC has been candid in what we would like to see happen, and it is that the conflict diamonds definition should incorporate all of the most severe instances of violence, whether they be carried out by rebel forces, private or state-run security forces, or criminal elements." 

He also said that it was in the collective interest of all participants in the KP that all KP certified rough diamonds meet the standards and expectations of the market.

"Within our area of influence we have a duty to care, and to consider long-term solutions that will protect our most vulnerable stakeholders. This is what we need to do together in New Delhi."

In 2018, the WDC Board of Directors approved a new System of Warranties, which exceeds the scope of the KP in its inclusion of universally accepted principles on human and labour rights, AML and anti corruption.