Israel: We Do Not Trade Rough with Non-KP Members
October 28, 09
Responding to an allegation by a UN inspection team, Israel denied it is trading rough diamonds with the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire), a country that is not a member of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai said the country cooperated with a UN investigation team that visited Israel twice over the past few years. “We have proved beyond any shadow of doubt that rough diamonds are not entering Israel without a KP certificate - not from the Ivory Coast nor from any other country that is not a member of the Scheme.”
The Diamond Controller’s office at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor is responsible for enforcing KP regulations in Israel.
Mordechai added that Israel is a founding member of KP and operates a strict control and oversight system.
The Israeli delegation that will attend the annual KP conference in Namibia next week will file an official protest over the allegation. The delegation will be led by Boaz Hirsch, who heads the international activities division at the Foreign Ministry. Israel is the next country to chair the KP and Hirsch will be nominated KP Chairman for the coming year.