The Role of Diamonds in Fuelling Conflict : Breaking the Link Between the Illicit Transaction of Rough Diamonds and Armed Conflict as a Contribution to Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts

A/RES/70/252No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 33The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

21 versions · 2003–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/252

2026A/RES/80/252The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict : breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflictsLatestCompare with previous version
2025A/RES/79/275The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict : breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflictsCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/78/270The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict : breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflictsCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/277The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict : breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflictsCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/75/261The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict : breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflictsCompare with previous version

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What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Central African Republic Certificates of Origin Conflict Diamonds Illicit Traffic Regional Cooperation Sanctions Sanctions Compliance Technical Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

29 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms its strong and continuing support for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme1 and the Kimberley Process as a whole;

Recognizes that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme helps to ensure the effective implementation of relevant resolutions of the Security Council containing sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds and contributes to the prevention of future conflicts fuelled by diamonds, and calls for the full implementation of existing Council measures targeting the illicit trade in rough diamonds, particularly conflict diamonds which play a role in fuelling conflict;

Also recognizes the important contributions that the international efforts to address the problem of conflict diamonds, including the Kimberley Process, have made to the settlement of conflicts and the consolidation of peace in Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone;

Notes the efforts to further strengthen implementation of the Kimberley Process, including efforts to continue to examine the application of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requirements in cross-border Internet sales;

Also notes the decision of the General Council of the World Trade Organization of 15 May 2003 granting a waiver with respect to the measures taken to implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, effective from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2006, the decision of the General Council of 17 November 2006 granting an extension of the waiver until 31 December 2012, and the decision of the General Council of 11 December 2012 granting an extension of the waiver until 31 December 2018;

Takes note of the report of the Chair of the Kimberley Process submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 69/136,2 and congratulates the Participants, industry and observers involved in the Process for contributing to the development, implementation and monitoring of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme;

Acknowledges the progress made by Kimberley Process working groups, Participants and observers during 2015 in fulfilling the objectives set by the Chair to strengthen implementation of the peer review system, increase the transparency and accuracy of statistics, promote research into the traceability of diamonds, promote inclusiveness by broadening the level of involvement by Governments, industry and civil society in the Process, foster a sense of ownership by Participants and observers, improve information and communication flows and enhance the capacity of the Process to respond to emerging challenges;

Notes that the annual reporting process on Kimberley Process Certification Scheme implementation is the main comprehensive and regular source of information on the implementation of the Kimberley Process provided by Participants, and calls upon Participants to submit consistent and substantive annual reports in order to conform to this requirement;

Expresses appreciation to Armenia, the Congo, Mexico, Swaziland, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union for receiving review visits in 2015, welcomes their commitment to continuously open their certification systems to reviews and improvements, and expresses appreciation that a review visit was conducted in Côte d’Ivoire pursuant to Security Council resolution 2153 (2014) of 29 April 2014;

Acknowledges the expressions of interest to host review visits by Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Mauritius, Norway, Panama, Sierra Leone and Togo, and calls upon other Participants to continue to invite review visits and to participate actively under the Kimberley Process peer review system;

Also acknowledges the efforts of the Kimberley Process to strengthen implementation and enforcement and, in particular, to ensure the coordination of its actions in relation to the occurrence of fraudulent certificates, to apply vigilance and ensure the detection and reporting of shipments of suspicious origin and to facilitate the exchange of information in cases of infringement, and acknowledges with appreciation the increased level of collaboration among Participants and with the World Customs Organization in this matter;

Stresses that the widest possible participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is essential, encourages Participants to contribute to the work of the Kimberley Process by seeking membership, participating actively in the Certification Scheme and complying with its undertakings, and acknowledges the importance of the increased involvement of civil society organizations in the Process;

Calls upon the Kimberley Process Participants to continue to articulate and improve rules and procedures to further enhance the effectiveness of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and notes with satisfaction the systematization of the work of the Process with respect to developing transparent and uniform rules and procedures and improving the mechanism for consultations and coordination within the Process;

Notes with appreciation the willingness of Kimberley Process Participants and observers to support and provide technical assistance to those Participants experiencing temporary difficulties in complying with the requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme;

Recognizes the importance of the Kimberley Process in promoting economic development, particularly in the artisanal and small-scale diamond mining sector, and encourages an increased focus on issues related to development, including through the work of the Diamond Development Initiative, within the framework of the Process;

Welcomes the recent steps taken by the Mano River Union countries, namely, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, to create a new impetus for further regional cooperation with respect to compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an initiative highlighted by the Security Council in its resolution 2153 (2014), in which the Council lifted the embargo on the export of rough diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire, also welcomes the continuous support to the Mano River Union countries provided by the technical team of the Working Group on Monitoring and the Friends of the Mano River Union group, in particular ongoing efforts to formalize the role of the secretariat of the Mano River Union and involve other implementing partners and/or technical assistance providers, and expresses its appreciation to Angola for facilitating the coordination meetings with the Mano River Union during its chairmanship of the Kimberley Process in 2015;

Notes that the plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process in 2015 took note of a report on the preliminary findings and observations of the review mission conducted to the Central African Republic, encouraged the Central African Republic to further implement its workplan and road map for strengthening the internal control system and requested the review mission team to finalize its report, and in this connection encourages the Central African Republic to continue its efforts to provide the information requested by the review mission team;

Also notes that the plenary meeting took note of the steps taken by the follow-up committee of the Central African Republic and the Kimberley Process monitoring team, consistent with the terms of reference of the team, to implement the administrative decision on the resumption of exports of rough diamonds from the Central African Republic, as approved through written procedure on 17 July 2015, encouraged the Process authorities in the Central African Republic to continue to implement the administrative decision and to share any relevant information and data with the monitoring team and invited the monitoring team to continue to carry out its responsibilities as outlined in the administrative decision and proceed with the planning of a field mission to diamond-producing areas in the Central African Republic as soon as possible, in order to verify the situation on the ground with a view to validating the proposal of the Central African Republic for determining “compliant zones” from which the export of rough diamonds could resume;

Further notes that the plenary meeting noted that Angola had been providing technical assistance and logistical support to the Central African Republic and that the United States of America planned to resume the property rights and artisanal diamond development project in the Central African Republic with a view to enhancing the capacity of the Central African Republic and assisting it with the implementation of the administrative decision and the operational framework for the resumption of exports of rough diamonds, and notes that the plenary meeting encouraged other Participants and observers also to consider providing similar or other technical assistance;

Notes that the plenary meeting encouraged the Central African Republic and the Kimberley Process monitoring team to continue to work closely with relevant United Nations actors, notably the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2127 (2013) of 5 December 2013, the international community and neighbouring countries on Kimberley Process Certification Scheme compliance issues with a regional dimension;

Acknowledges the positive efforts of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela towards participating fully in the Kimberley Process, and notes that the Process plans to send a review mission there no later than the end of the first quarter of 2016;

Notes with appreciation the role played by the Kimberley Process Administrative Support Mechanism, hosted by the World Diamond Council in 2015;

Also notes with appreciation the continued support provided by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre for the further development of the Kimberley Process website, which has already been enhanced significantly, to make it a more efficient and effective tool;

Reaffirms the commitment of the Kimberley Process to continue dialogue on decision-making and on the definition of “conflict diamonds”, in accordance with the final communiqué of the plenary meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2013;

Also reaffirms the importance of the tripartite nature of the Kimberley Process, and welcomes the offer by the World Diamond Council to mediate between the Chair of the Process for 2016 and the Civil Society Coalition in order to find a way forward for future constructive engagements with civil society in recognition of the important role that civil society plays in the process;

Encourages further improvement in enforcement of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and notes the new efforts made to increase information-sharing and collaboration in enforcement;

Acknowledges with great appreciation the important contribution that Angola, as Chair of the Kimberley Process in 2015, has made towards curbing the trade in conflict diamonds, and welcomes the selection of the United Arab Emirates as Chair and Australia as Vice-Chair of the Process for 2016;

Requests the Chair of the Kimberley Process to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session a report on the implementation of the Process;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session the item entitled “The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict”.

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