The public perception of the diamond industry remained poor and it couldn’t be said with complete confidence that the perception was “all utter nonsense”, De Beers chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer said in a speech released on Thursday.
De Beers is the world’s largest diamond miner, 45% held by Anglo American.
“Whether we like it or not, true or not, the public perception of the diamond industry remains one of secrecy, of hidden dealings, of tax evasion, of political intrigue, of money laundering, of undisclosed treatments and substitution, of false certification, of willfully misleading the consumer and, indeed, even connections with the funding of terrorism,” Oppenheimer said in an address to the World Diamond Congress held in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
The World Diamond Congress brings together the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers’ Association.
“The truth is that there are still elements in our industry that operate with blatant disregard for the law, for the rules that govern our business, for the norms of acceptable behaviour in today’s society,” he added.
“I look to the leaders of the industry assembled here — and all diamantaires of good faith — to drive out, isolate and eject from our business those who refuse to accept and embrace the absolute imperative to operate — in all we do — in an ethical and morally responsible manner. We will be judged not by our words, but by our actions,” Oppenheimer said.
Six years ago the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and International Diamond Manufactuers’ Association, at the 2000 World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, passed a joint resolution supporting the international campaign — initiated by South Africa — to eliminate the traffic in “conflict diamonds”, he added.
The resolution led to negotiations with the United Nations (UN), national governments and civil society and the creation of the Kimberley Process — a self-regulatory diamond certification scheme.
“The reputation of the industry in the international arena was much enhanced by this demonstration of its concern and commitment,” Oppenheimer said.
“You might be asking yourselves why I am going on about conflict diamonds and the Kimberly Process etc. Surely the conflicts in Africa are over, no government department has ever asked for audited records of warranties, and this is all ‘old hat’,” he added.
“Well I’m here to tell you it is not. We cannot be complacent or allow ‘conflict diamond’ fatigue to gain hold. The Kimberley Process is due for its three-year review at the United Nations General Assembly in November this year. Prior to that the US Government Accountability Office [GAO] will be reporting to congress on the effectiveness of the process,” Oppenheimer said.
“It is possible that the Kimberley Process — and thus the diamond industry itself — will be subject to a congressional hearing towards the end of the year,” Oppenheimer noted.
“Of course the Kimberly Process is an astonishing achievement with a very high degree of success, but it is not a perfect construct. Both the UN’s review and the GAO report are likely to highlight remaining shortcomings. These include some failure of intergovernmental systems, discrepancies in official import/export statistics and the illegal shipment of rough diamonds from non-participant countries,” Oppenheimer said.
“These are matters for the Kimberley Secretariat and the governments themselves, but industry compliance will also be under close scrutiny,” he stated.
“On Valentine’s Day this year, Amnesty International and Global Witness, two of the lead non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on ‘conflict diamonds’, conducted a survey of retailers both in the US and UK. Their survey showed an abysmal ignorance of the system of warranties by jewellers’ store personnel and an appalling low level of compliance by many of the companies themselves,” Oppenheimer said.
“Research carried out by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) demonstrated that the findings of the NGOs were largely correct,” he added.
The DTC is De Beers’ marketing arm.
“It is no good saying that this sort of survey is unfair or unscientific, or the warrant system is voluntary — so I don’t have to do anything. It may be all those things, but it is a clear indication that all the vital retail interface with our most important customer — the consumer — we as an industry are failing to live up to our commitments. That is unacceptable,” Oppenheimer concluded. – I-Net Bridge