AWDC attends Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting in China

On 14 November, AWDC attended the 12th edition of the Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting in Guangzhou, China. Among the participants were representatives of governments from more than 50 countries and a delegation of the World Diamond Council (WDC).

An important highlight of the meeting was a decision made with respect to the Administration Support Mechanism (ASM), which is managed and financed on behalf of the Kimberley Process by WDC member organizations. Launched in 2013, the ASM provides valuable assistance to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. It was agreed during the plenary meeting that the ASM would from now on provide educational and training tools for all KP participants. AWDC is the ASM’s focal point and is also in charge of managing and optimizing KP knowledge and institutional memory.
 
The KP Plenary also welcomed a proposal by several working groups to consider relevant recommendations concerning risks associated with the supply of rough diamonds, as outlined summarized in the 2013 Financial Action Task Force Report. The KP Plenary agreed that the recommendations would be assessed to improve the KPCS and its implementation.

Among other topics discussed at the meeting was a survey of how KP member countries handle confiscated rough diamonds, along with the so-called KP ‘roadmap’ for the Central African Republic (CAR), which is designed to enable CAR to become KP compliant.