Angolan Government Approves Diamond Control Regulations

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(Rapaport… July 16, 2003) The Angolan Cabinet Council approved on July 14, 2003, several draft decrees containing security regulations for setting up a diamond monitoring and certification mechanism in accordance with the Kimberley process. The Kimberley Process requires governments and the diamond industry to implement import-export controls to stamp out conflict diamonds.

According to the deputy minister of Geology and Mining, Makenda Ambroise, these security measures fall within the framework of internal security, which reinforces the rules on how diamond certification must be used internally and how to deal with rough diamonds in the country.

Nongovernmental organization, Global Witness, welcomed the government’s decree. However, Corinna Gilfillan of Global Witness reiterates the group’s belief that an independent monitoring mechanism needs to be set up to evaluate country programs in relation to the Kimberley Process.

“The next step we’d like to see is participants of the Kimberley Process, including Angola, agreeing to regular independent monitoring to ensure that the process is working and not open to abuse. There needs to be some accountability in the whole process, and right now we don’t see that. We’ve been pressing for regular independent monitoring,” Gilfillan stressed.

Gilfillan noted that by passing the regulations Angola was merely meeting the “minimum requirements” of the Kimberley Process.