U.S. takes charge of Kimberly Process

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The Kimberly Process needs to adapt to changing political dynamics to improve transparency in the diamond trade, the U.S. chairwoman said.

Chairwoman of the Kimberly Process Gillian Milovanovic said the certification mechanism has helped improved the transparency of governments in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola, country's rich in diamonds.

Advocacy group Global Witness announced in December that it was abandoning the Kimberly Process, saying it failed to curb violence tied to the diamond trade in major supplier countries such as Ivory Coast, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The World Diamond Council, at a meeting in Kinshasa in October, said Zimbabwe could export diamonds from two operations at the Marange region.

Global Witness said the diamond-mining industry in Zimbabwe was tied to political figures such as Robert Mugabe, whom the group notes is tied closely to so-called blood diamonds.

Milovanovic, however, said the regime wasn't as effective at highlight its success as it should, noting policies should reflect a changing geopolitical dynamic.

"Today, we see diamonds emerging from conflicts that do not involve the same types of rebel movements, but from broader contexts of conflict, and we believe the Kimberly Process should carefully consider how best to address this," she said at a meeting in South Afica.