Diamonds and Human Security
What Partnership Africa Canada is Doing
PAC became involved in the conflict diamond issue in 1999 out of concern about the lack of international interest in Sierra Leone's horrific conflict. When we asked ourselves how such a terrible war could have been sustained for so long, our attention soon turned to diamonds.
In January 2000, PAC published "The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security," which received widespread attention in the media. It provided the first "logical" explanation for the war and its duration, and helped bring badly needed international attention to Sierra Leone. A UN Sanctions Committee on Angola later released a report on the connection between diamonds and weapons that confirmed what PAC had said about the diamond industry at large, and the particular role of the industry's main trading centre, Antwerp.
During 2000 PAC began to engage with the diamond industry, participating in the Antwerp World Diamond Congress and the first meeting, convened by South Africa, of what eventually became the Kimberley Process. Ian Smillie, PAC's Research Coordinator, also took a leave of absence to participate in the second United Nations Security Council Expert Panel, examining the connection between weapons and diamonds in West Africa.
Since then, through its "Diamonds and Human Security Project", PAC has carried out an extensive programme of investigative and policy research, public education and advocacy on conflict diamonds and the developmental potential of diamonds. Through its programmes, PAC engages the diamond industry, governments and civil society in Africa and elsewhere in discussion and action that will ensure greater development impact from diamonds, especially in countries emerging from conflict and so that diamonds become an asset for, rather than a detriment to peaceful, long-term development.. Two PAC researchers have been awarded the prestigious Canadian Policy Research Award, and in 2002 PAC was co-nominated by an American Senator and two Congressmen for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. PAC’s publications related to diamonds include:
- A series of diamond industry Annual Reviews - a “watching brief” published since 2004 on the three countries most affected by conflict diamonds: Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, and done in collaboration with the participation of civil society organizations in those countries. In 2008, a new format was chosen for the Annual Review to cover ten additional countries in Africa and South America besides the three core countries, in addition to a critical review of Kimberley Process implementation.
- The Occasional Papers series highlights - in depth studies on important and major problems with the diamond industry in KP participating countries and that impact the good functioning and reputation of the Kimberley Process. These include a paper on Liberian diamond sanctions in June 2004 which was used by members of the UN Security Council, two papers on Brazil that revealed massive fraud in its diamond industry, resulting in a complete shutdown of Brazilian diamond exports for more than six months in 2006, and a complete restructuring of the country's control systems. A report in 2006 showed that 100% of Venezuela's diamond production is non-compliant with KPCS standards and is essentially being smuggled out of the country, and Venezuela has since withdrawn from the Kimberley Process in order to sort out its difficulties. A report on the study "Rich Man, Poor Man – Development Diamonds and Poverty Diamonds: The Potential for Change in the Artisanal Alluvial Diamond Fields of Africa," led to the creation of the Diamond Development Initiative.
- The quarterly newsletter, "Other Facets" – a unique publication that monitors the Kimberley Process.
The Kimberley Process and Support to African Civil Society
PAC was directly involved in all of the Kimberley Process negotiating meetings between 2000 and 2002, and has participated in every Kimberley Process meeting since the official launch of the KPCS in 2003. PAC participates in KP working groups on statistics, monitoring and membership, and we have been part of reviews of more than 15 participating countries.
PAC's research and policy dialogue within the KP has helped the KP remain strong and provides a measure of confidence to the public with respect to the diamond trade. The Kimberley Process is backed by a peer review process that involves government, industry and civil society. Over the years, PAC has provided training programmes for NGOs in Antwerp on diamond monitoring, provided financial assistance to African civil society organizations for their work on diamonds and including the KPCS implementation, and sponsored NGO representation in monitoring missions. PAC believes that African civil society organizations play a key role in the functioning of the KPCS and its mandate for which African civil society must be strengthened to take on much of the work itself. As one of the two official Observers within the KP, the civil society coalition now includes representation from Sierra Leone, DRC, Liberia and Guinea.
