RAPAPORT… The Kimberley Process chairman, Matthieu Yamba, said the organization is seeking clarification from the Zimbabwe government regarding allegations of ongoing torture carried out in the Marange fields.
Yamba’s statement follows a recent report by the BBC showing a torture camps located in the diamond fields, including testimonies from victims of abuse at the camp. Human Rights Watch this week published a separate report outlining evidence of abuses taking place in the Marange fields by police and private security personnel attempting to clear the fields of local informal miners.
Yamba sent a letter to the BBC and Zimbabwe’s Mines Minister, Obert Mpofu, seeking clarification over the accusations.
”The Kimberley Process has worked with Zimbabwe for two years now to improve the conditions in Marange through a variety of mechanisms and so far, according to various reports, the progress has been encouraging and positive,” Yamba said. ”The Kimberley Process is determined to pursue that engagement in order to prevent any resumption of the violence in the Marange area, such as those described in the BBC report.”
He stressed that the Kimberley Process is ready to use all relevant monitoring mechanisms and to fully engage gathering information relevant to these allegations.