CAR Urges KP to Lift Conflict Diamond Ban

(IDEX Online) - The Central African Republic (CAR) has urged the Kimberley Process to lift an embargo on diamonds from parts of the country that's been in place since 2013.

Mines and geology minister Rufin Benam Beltoungou urged delegates at the plenary session in Dubai last week to end restrictions on the so-called red zones - representing two thirds of his country's diamond mining areas.

He said the "the security issue no longer exists on our side" and "the minimum traceability requirement has been addressed".

CAR was barred from selling diamonds in 2013 during a civil war in which Seleka rebel forces attacked government troops and seized power, leading to widespread violence.

KP intervened because rebels were reportedly funding their activities through the sale of diamonds - the very activity that the KP was established to outlaw.

CAR's diamond mining is almost entirely artisanal or small-scale mining. 

Legal exports, from CAR's green zones, totaled just under $8m in 2020, the latest year for which KP has figures - 50,433 carats for an average $142 per carat.