RAPAPORT… August 12, 2010: The Kimberley Process (KP) has just certified approximately 900,000 carats of rough diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe. While the trading of Marange diamonds may be legal in certain jurisdictions, companies owning or selling the diamonds are sanctioned by the U.S., European Union (EU), and U.K. governments and the trading being conducted by citizens of these countries may be illegal.
Furthermore, the KP does not have a mandate to deny its certification for diamonds involved in human rights violations and there is no guarantee that diamonds with KP certifications are free of associations with human rights violations.
Rapaport strongly advises all diamond buyers not to trade in KP-certified diamonds from Marange and to request written assurance from their suppliers that their diamonds have not been sourced from Marange.
RapNet, the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, will not allow the trading of any diamonds sourced from Marange, Zimbabwe. Members found to have knowingly offered Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet will be expelled and their names will be publicly communicated.
For more information, visit www.diamonds.net/zimbabwe.
UPDATE (August 15, 2010) – Martin Rapaport has also written the following letter to RapNet members.
Dear RapNet members,
On August 11th 2010, the Kimberley Process certified approximately 900,000 carats of rough diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe. While the trading of these diamonds may be legal in certain jurisdictions it is illegal for U.S., E.U., or U.K. citizens or entities to knowingly trade these diamonds due to the fact that the companies owning or selling the diamonds are sanctioned by these governments.
Furthermore, it should be clear that the Kimberley Process (KP) does not have a mandate to deny its certification for diamonds involved in human rights violations and therefore there is no assurance that diamonds with KP certification are free of human rights violations.
Based on the above legal and moral considerations RapNet will continue to forbid the trading of any diamonds sourced from Marange, Zimbabwe on our network. RapNet members that knowingly offer Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet will be expelled from RapNet and their names will be publicly communicated. We strongly urge members to contact their suppliers and obtain written assurances that they are not being supplied Marange diamonds. U.S., U.K. and E.U. members may have a legal obligation to do so and should consult their legal advisors.
RapNet members that wish to cancel their subscription due to this trade restriction are invited to do so within thirty days and will receive a refund for the unused portion of their RapNet subscription.
RapNet and the Rapaport Group are fully committed to maintaining honest ethical standards and will not tolerate the use of our trading networks for the distribution of diamonds involved in human rights violations. If any member has information about such abuses they are encouraged to contact RapNet’s legal counsel via email legal@diamonds.net .
On behalf of RapNet and all of us at the Rapaport Group I thank you for your membership and continued support of our activities and ethical standards.
Yours truly,
Martin Rapaport