(Rapaport…June 20, 2001) The diamond and jewelry industry have reached agreement with Congressman Tony Hall and the NGO’s on U.S. legislation that will restrict the import of conflict diamonds to the U.S. The legislation based on Tony Hall’s Clean Diamond Act in the House of Representatives has just been introduced in the Senate. The diamond and jewelry trade is strongly encouraged to support the legislative initiatives being undertaken in Congress.
Three members of the U.S. Senate introduced a new conflict diamond bill on June 21. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL.), Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) unveiled bipartisan compromise legislation aimed at ending the conflict diamond trade.
The bipartisan measure would create a system to prohibit U.S. imports of conflict diamonds and impose serious penalties on those who do not comply. The bill also supports the work of the Kimberly Process, an international effort to establish a global certification system to end the trade in conflict diamonds.
Joining the senators at the announcement of the new bill were Representative Tony Hall (D-Oh), who introduced the Clean Diamonds Act in March. The latest conflict diamond bill is the culmination of discussions between Hall and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate members, the World Diamond Council (WDC), Jewelers of America (JA) and NGO officials. With the passage of the bill, NGOs are expected to halt jewelry protests.
Also scheduled to be present at the announcement are Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA); John Ernest Leigh, Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the U.S.; Matthew Runci, JA; Eli Izhakoff, WDC; Adotei Akwei, Amnesty International; and Holly Burkhalter, Physicians for Human Rights and the Campaign to Eliminate Conflict Diamonds.
“This legislation is an important and essential first step toward achieving our goal to assure American consumers that every diamond in our stores comes from a legitimate source,” said Runci of JA. He noted that the legislation is “critical to the establishment of an international system that will cleanse the legitimate supply chain of conflict diamonds.” Runci added that JA will work with members of Congess, NGOs and industry groups to secure the passage of the bill.
Holly Burkhalter of Physicians for Human Rights and had this to say. “Now that the diamond industry and the non-governmental human rights community have worked to develop a bill that meets the needs of both sides, we are committed to working together to get the compromise legislation passed into law.” …“We commend the World Diamond Council and its representatives for their seriousness in addressing the concerns of the Campaign to Eliminate Conflict Diamonds, and look forward to working with them in the coming months.”