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The United States Welcomes Progress Made During The KP Plenary

In light of serious concerns about Zimbabwe's compliance with the Kimberley Process (KP) rough diamond certification scheme, we await full and expeditious implementation of the stringent controls for exports of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange fields that were agreed at the KP Plenary in Swakopmund, Namibia, on November 5.

The United States expects Zimbabwe to commit substantial effort and resources to the obligations of the Work Plan. If the Work Plan is not thoroughly implemented, we expect the KP to suspend Zimbabwe's status in the KP certification scheme. We further note that Zimbabwe agreed only to export Marange diamonds once the monitoring mechanism is established. In addition, the United States remains deeply concerned about human rights abuses in the diamond regions of Zimbabwe.

The United States welcomes progress made during the KP Plenary regarding increased oversight of exports from Guinea, new measures regarding identification and cooperation on suspicious shipments and efforts to improve coordination on technical and development assistance.

Source: U.S. Department of State