The long-term developmental potential of diamonds can be realised only if they continue to remain an aspirational purchase for consumers, said World Diamond Council (WDC) President Stephane Fischler, speaking at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, on October 23, 2019.

As reported yesterday, the session on “Russian-African Collaboration in the Diamond Industry” where Fischler spoke, was also addressed by many other senior representatives of the diamond producers and producing countries.

“If the integrity of the diamond is undermined, so is the economic potential of the product,” Fischler said, while calling on the governments of the producing countries to support the efforts of the WDC in safeguarding the reputation of the diamond.

Stating that protecting the integrity of the product would also help in releasing its full economic potential and differentiating it from other products that have no measurable social value or impact, the WDC President urged Tom Alweendo, the Namibian Mining and Energy Minister, in his dual role as Chair of the African Diamond Producers’ Association (ADPA), to formalise and strengthen the relationship between the African producers and the WDC.

He stressed the importance of progress being made in strengthening the scope of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), as part the three-year review and reform cycle that will be ending at the 2019 KP Plenary Meeting in New Delhi, India from November 18-22. “More specifically, we are talking about amending the definition of ‘conflict diamonds’ so that it better enables us to provide an assurance that the trade in rough diamonds cannot fund the types of systemic violence being seen in certain diamond-mining areas today,” he said.

The WDC is currently in the process of rolling out its new System of Warranties (SoW), which Fischler noted, “has a scope that goes significantly beyond that of the Kimberley Process”.

The WDC calculates that diamond-producing countries on the African continent received about US$ 8.1 billion, or 9.5 percent of the US$ 85.9 billion worth of revenues generated by diamond jewellery in 2018 and that the value of the diamond increases by about a factor of five as it travels from the mine to the countertop of the retail jeweller.

In this context, and given the fact that there are 10 million Africans whose income depends on continuing demand for diamond jewellery in consuming countries, Fischler said, “Diamond deposits hold the promise of a better future for all African producing countries, and more specifically for the communities living in the areas where they are located. To realize this promise, those mining the product need to receive fair value for their labour and capital investment, and an appropriate proportion of the revenues generated must be used to create sustainable economic and social opportunities at the grass-roots level.”

The new SoW statement, which members of industry are required to include on all invoices and memo documents, includes a commitment by the companies that they adhere to the WDC Guidelines, he pointed out. These now expressly reference international conventions relating to human and labor rights, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering (AML), the WDC President stated. Furthermore, a special task force, headed by Peter Karakchiev from ALROSA, is developing a toolkit that will assist industry members abide by the new protocol.

“By being able to tell a compelling story about the economic and social benefits provided by diamonds in the countries where they are sourced, the value of the jewelry product will be enhanced,” he said. “Not only should we be protecting the integrity of our product, but we also should be releasing its full economic potential and differentiating it from other products that have no measurable social value or impact.”

Pic caption: WDC President Stephane Fischler (second from right) addressing the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi on October 23, 2019, during the session on “Russian-African Collaboration in the Diamond Industry.”