India to Ban Diamond Imports from Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean Marange diamond alluvial mines had experienced a recent setback in their global import of diamonds following India’s Gem and jewelry Export Promotion Council’s decision to ban all imports coming from the mine.
Last Wednesday, the Surat based council in charge of regulating India’s diamond, precious gemstone and jewelry exports and imports announced that alarming reports of human rights being abused in the Marange diamond mine area prompted the council to ban all of the mine’s diamond and precious gemstone imports to the country for an undisclosed period of time. In fact, the Zimbabwean Marange diamond alluvial mines have been suspect since 2009 when reports of human right violations began reaching the KP council.

Reports of human rights violations, of conflicts with the Kimberley Process, are taken very seriously by global diamond and precious gemstone conglomerates such as the Indian Gem and jewelry Export Promotion Council. Consequently, this is neither the first time nor will this be the last time that diamond imports from Zimbabwe have been or will be banned by global gemstone councils, manufacturers and distributors.

The Kimberley Process was introduced for this very purpose, to make the entire process of exporting and importing diamonds and precious gemstones as transparent as possible, ensuring that globally traded precious gemstones are conflict free, meaning that no human rights were violated during the mining process of these gemstone. The KP strives to shed light on the origin of each and every diamond or precious gemstone that is globally traded.

The Kimberley Process is largely supported by most of the major global diamond exporters and importers boasting a membership of seventy five countries with forty nine delegates present during the KP’s annual proceedings.
Diamond and precious gemstone exports from the Marange mine were discussed in last month’s Kimberley Process proceedings, wherein opposition to exports from the mine were reported by the United States, Australia, Canada and the European Union. Allegedly, the Indian GJEPC was swayed following these influential diamond distributors decision to ban the mine’s exports and has instated its own ban.

The GJEPC’s ban on the mine’s diamond exports is a definite financial setback for the reigning Harare regime and will reportedly cost the regime losses of approximately a hundred million dollars a month in diamond and precious gemstone sales.