Review Mission Report and a Revised KP List

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(Rapaport… July 11, 2004) The report of the review mission was submitted to the KP Chair, Tim Martin, on June 16, 2004, and forwarded immediately to the Republic of Congo. The conclusions of the review mission are as follows:

* Republic of Congo has consistently failed to provide production statistics, as required by Section V (b) and Annex III of the KPCS document.

* No evidence was found that the Republic of Congo has adequate and effective internal monitoring and control measures that would clearly identify diamonds that might flow from other countries into the Republic of Congo.

* Important aspects of the relevant laws, regulations and procedures which ensure that Kimberley Process Certificates are issued only for those rough diamonds which are produced within the Republic of Congo, or are certified as imports, are not adequately being implemented.

* The discrepancy identified by the Working Group on Monitoring relating to the scale of rough diamond exports considerably exceeding the estimated production capacity of the Republic of Congo and the absence of related imports, cannot reasonably be explained.

* The Republic of Congo does not have in place the necessary effective control and monitoring measures that would ensure that Kimberley Process Certificates are issued only for those rough diamonds which are produced within the Republic of Congo or which are imported in a manner consistent with the requirements of the KPCS.

* The Republic of Congo therefore fails to meet the minimum requirements of compliance for the implementation of the KPCS. The objectives of the KPCS, most notably the need to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds into the legitimate diamond trade, are potentially being undermined, since no guarantee can be provided that the diamonds flowing through the Republic of Congo are conflict-free. Indeed, the present situation could present an opportunity for conflict diamonds to enter the legitimate diamond trade unchecked, through the Republic of Congo.

* Given the large volumes of diamonds flowing through the Republic of Congo, urgent and decisive action is required to address the situation. Action in this regard is required by both the Government of the Republic of Congo as well as the Chair and other Participants of the KPCS, in order to ensure that the present state of affairs does not continue.

* Based on its findings, the review mission also believes that there is an urgent need for a regional discussion on the implementation of the KPCS within the region of Central Africa.

* The review mission believes that the stated plans of the government of the Republic of Congo to meet the minimum standards and address weaknesses that have been identified should be implemented without unnecessary delay. Additional measures would be urgently

required, however to, ensure that the Republic of Congo is fully compliant with the KPCS.

As of 9 July 2004, the following 43 states and/or regional economic integration organizations have met the minimum requirements of the KPSC:

1) Angola

2) Armenia

3) Australia

4) Belarus

5) Botswana

6) Brazil

7) Bulgaria

8) Canada

9) Central African Republic

10) China, People’s Republic of

11) Congo, Democratic Republic of

12) Cote D’ Ivoire

13) Croatia

14) European Community

15) Ghana

16) Guinea

17) Guyana

18) India

19) Israel

20) Japan

21) Korea, Republic of

22) Laos, People’s Republic of

23) Lesotho

24) Malaysia

25) Mauritius

26) Namibia

27) Norway

28) Romania

29) Russian Federation

30) Singapore

31) Sierra Leone

32) South Africa

33) Sri Lanka

34) Switzerland

35) Tanzania

36) Thailand

37) Togo

38) Ukraine

39) United Arab Emirates

40) United States of America

41) Venezuela

42) Vietnam

43) Zimbabwe

NOTE: The rough diamond-trading entity of the Chinese Taipei has also met the minimum requirements of the KPCS.