Summary: 5 November 2007, Brussels - Speech by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, on the 'Kimberley Process reviews progress during 2007' at the Kimberley Process Annual Conference
Dear Ministers,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure to welcome you today on behalf of the European Community to the annual Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process.
One year ago in Gaborone, the European Community was entrusted to chair the Kimberley Process - we were honoured by your confidence and since then we have been deeply committed to steer the Kimberley Process family forward.
We started our job as Kimberley Process Chair announcing our main objective: to ensure 'continuity through consolidation' mainly through the implementation of the Kimberley Process 'Reform agenda' as agreed last year in Gaborone. A lot of work has been done during this year to make the Kimberley Process more transparent and more effective.
In terms of transparency, I would like to highlight the publication of the Kimberly Process rough diamond statistics, issued for the first time ever, and a new website that will facilitate communication between Participants and which will reach out to the wider public.
And the Kimberley Process has become more effective! Its monitoring capacity has been strengthened, as demonstrated by the 'first round of Review visits' to Kimberley Process member countries. A total of about 50 on-the-ground-inspections were carried out over the last years: I am sure you agree that not many international organisations have such a capacity of conducting independent and detailed assessments of implementation in member countries. The principle of peer review has been a great
success.
The strengthening of the Kimberley Process is also reflected in its expanding community - I am glad to welcome Liberia and Turkey as new member countries this year, and I am also encouraged that many civil society organisations and international organisations have expressed interest in participating. I would like to welcome their representatives; many are attending the Plenary for the first time. It is obvious, the Kimberley Process will only be stronger the more inclusive it is.
This year's concrete and continuous collaboration with the United Nations, with joint field missions and exchange of data, has demonstrated clearly that such a partnership increases the impact of the Kimberley Process.
The unprecedented level of technical assistance that Kimberley Process member countries have allocated to support implementation of Kimberley Process rules in different countries is very promising. This provides the tools to address weaknesses and enhance the robustness of the system.
Scientific and technological support brought a new dimension to the Kimberley Process: The use of satellite monitoring of diamond production in crisis areas, and a seminar bringing together scientists from different Kimberley Process countries to research the traceability of diamonds are pioneering actions in this respect.
So indeed ladies and gentlemen: the Kimberley Process is becoming stronger, its operational capacity enhances - but at the same time, we must recognise that the Kimberley Process is faced with ever new and significant challenges.
We knew that taking over the Kimberley Process Chair would not be an easy task. At the beginning of the year, we committed ourselves to reinforce the Kimberley Process capacity: to react to 'crisis' when difficulties of implementation in a particular country pose a threat to the entire system.
Admittedly, 2007 was rich in such situations - throughout the year the Kimberley Process has been continuously engaged in monitoring and dialogue with countries such as Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe and Venezuela which had serious difficulties of implementation.
Plenary will now discuss these issues, and I call on all the members of the Kimberley Process family to continue constructively, to work in a spirit of co-operation and pragmatism and maintain the good track record of the Kimberley Process in finding innovative and effective solutions and to vigorously deter any resurgence of the phenomenon of conflict diamonds.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You can be proud of what the Kimberley Process has achieved so far. The Kimberley Process grew out of sanctions on conflict diamonds which were major sources of funding for some particularly brutal conflicts. Today, these conflicts are over and some of the leaders are standing trial for their crimes. Looking at how things have changed since the early days of the Kimberley Process, the contrast is dramatic. Really, 'diamonds are no longer a rebel's best friend'!
I thank you all for your hard work and support of our chairmanship so far, and I hope that the intensive discussions you will have in the next few days will ensure that the Kimberley Process will be stronger and more effective than ever.
Thank you.
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EC Chairmanship of the Kimberley Process: from Conflict Diamonds to Prosperity Diamonds