
The aim of the Kimberley Process (KP) is to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the official international market. KP Member States oversee the production of and trade in their rough diamonds. All international shipments of rough diamonds must take place in intact shipping packaging and be accompanied by a government-issued certificate of non-conflict origin. Compliance with these requirements is checked through KP inspection visits, analysis of annual reports as well as production and trade statistics. If a country (KP member) does not comply with these strict requirements, it may be excluded from the system, thus losing the opportunity to sell rough diamonds on the international market, which is a strong incentive to comply with the rules and prevent their violation.
The Kimberley Process is a unique partnership of civil society, which, together with the United Nations, has brought this issue to the forefront, of industry, which has made significant contributions in the form of expertise and other resources, as well as of KP governments, which have worked together to get the system moving forward. The process depends on the active involvement of all these three components.
Conflict diamonds (“bloody" diamonds) - rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments.