BRUSSELS, Belgium: An international govenment organization is planning to clear Ghana of allegations it is illicitly exporting “conflict diamonds” from Ivory Coast, European Union diplomats said Monday.
Officials said Tuesday’s report by the 72-nation Kimberley Process — a certification program to prevent the trade of diamonds that fund violent conflict — did not find evidence of systemic smuggling.
Representatives from more than 40 countries will evaluate how well Ghana and other member states are adhering to the group’s mandatory regulations at a semiannual meeting which lasts until Thursday.
Despite a December 2005 United Nations ban on so-called “blood diamond” exports from the Ivory Coast, reports in 2006 alleged that Ivorian diamonds were being sold on world markets from Ghana with the official guarantee that the gems came from an area free of conflict.
At a November 2006 meeting, the Kimberley Process nations agreed to help Ghana tighten its internal controls over the diamond trade. The recently-completed review of Ghana’s diamond market — which involved photographic analysis of diamonds by experts — did not turn up evidence of systemic violations, the officials said
Source: GhanaWeb
