US Senate approves bill to stop traffic in diamonds

(AFP) Apr 11, 2003
WASHINGTON, April 10 - The US Senate unanimously approved a bill late Thursday that would ban the import of rough diamonds that fuel rebel activities in Africa and which may also be a source of funding for Osama Bin Ladens al-Qaeda network.

The Clean Diamond Trade Act would require diamond dealers to keep records of all diamond shipments and make such records available to US law enforcement authorities.

A similar measure was passed on Tuesday by the US House of Representatives.

The two bills now must be harmonized and signed into law by US President George W. Bush.

The bill seeks to finalize the structure of the Kimberley Process, to oversee diamond trade between nations and individuals worldwide using certificates verifiable at government level.

Fifty-two countries last November announced that they had formally adopted the Kimberley Process, which was launched in South Africa in 2000 and is supported by the United Nations.

Forty-six countries said they would implement the scheme on January 1, 2003, and a further six countries pledged to set it up by the end of 2003.

'Conflict' or 'blood' diamonds are mined in areas of conflict and help finance civil wars in countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Under the system, all batches of imported uncut diamonds must be accompanied by a specially-produced "unforgeable" document issued by national authorities, stating the country of origin of the diamonds.

SPACE.WIRE