(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.