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The following is an unauthorized version of the Report of the Panel of Experts to the United Nations on Sierra Leone.
This is not the official report. The official report has not yet been released. The report posted here is subject to change by the sanctions committee.
V. RECOMMENDATIONS ON DIAMONDS
156. In order to better regulate the flow of rough diamonds from producing countries, a global certification scheme based on the system now adopted in Sierra Leone is imperative. It will give added impetus to current discussions on this subject if the Security Council endorses the concept of a global certification system.
157. In the short run, and in the absence of a global system, it is recommended that certification systems similar to that adopted by Sierra Leone, be required of all diamond exporting countries in West Africa, with special and immediate reference to Guinea and Côte D'Ivoire, as a protective measure for their indigenous industries and to prevent their exposure to conflict diamonds. If this has not been completed within a period of six months, the Security Council should impose an international embargo on diamonds from these countries.
158. The Panel further recommends a complete embargo on all diamonds from Liberia until Liberia demonstrates convincingly that it is no longer involved in the trafficking of arms to, or diamonds from, Sierra Leone. The embargo should not be lifted until this condition has been met, and until Liberia too has joined the proposed standardized certification system.
159. The Security Council should place an immediate embargo on trade in all so-called Gambian diamonds until such time as its export of diamonds can be reconciled with imports.
160. Other diamond exporting countries in the region have been designated by the Belgian government as 'sensitive' countries*, where special attention to imports is required. In addition to the three countries suffering directly from conflict diamonds and those mentioned above, these include Uganda, Central African Republic, Ghana, Namibia, The Congo Brazzaville, Mali, Zambia and Burkina Faso. This list is commended to other major importing countries, including Switzerland, South Africa, India, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States. Invoices from these countries need to be thoroughly checked, and where there is doubt about either provenance or origin, parcels should be seized until the authorities have checked the facts. Delays in processing will increase the cost of doing business and will encourage better paper work. Forfeiture of improperly labelled goods will discourage the habit decisively. [* Note: the term 'sensitive country' is not used in this report to suggest wrongdoing. It is taken from a Belgian government report which seeks to protect these countries, Belgium and the industry from problems to which they are all clearly vulnerable. Namibia, for example, is one of the leaders in the fight aginst conflict diamonds.]
161. Urgent attention should be given to extending a Sierra Leone-style certification system to these countries as soon as possible.
162. The United Nations, the World Diamond Council and the import control authorities of all rough diamond importing countries should be vigilant for other exporting countries, or for countries in the future, where trade in diamonds has little to do with domestic production or legitimate trading.
163. It is essential, and a matter of urgency, that major trading centres (Belgium, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Africa, India, the United States and Israel) come to a common agreement on the recording and public documentation of rough diamond imports that is consistent from one country to another, and that clearly designates the country of origin in addition to country of provenance.
164. An annual statistical production report should be compiled by each exporting country and gathered into a central annual report, compiled by the World Diamond Council and/or by the certification body that is expected to emerge from the 'Kimberly Process' of intergovernmental negotiation. Countries of origin must be distinguished from countries of provenance.
165. If diamonds are mixed and/or re-invoiced in a free trade zone, it is imperative that the government of that country take responsibility for verifying the bona fides of the diamonds before they are re-exported. This is especially important with regard to Switzerland because of the large volumes that pass through its Freiläger, losing their identity in the process. The same may be true of the United Arab Emirates. In other words, all countries importing rough diamonds must be part of the anticipated 'rough controls' system.
166. Throughout its work, the Panel was struck by the widespread breaking of UN Security Council sanctions on both weapons and diamonds. If existing and future sanctions are to be effective, the Security Council will require an on-going capacity to monitor their observance and conduct research. Where diamonds are concerned, there have been three Expert Panels examining many of the same issues concurrently. There has been useful collaboration, but there has also been overlap and duplication. Considering the complexity and the changing nature of the conflict diamond issue the Panel recommends that in future, it would serve the Security Council better to have an on-going focal point within the UN to monitor adherence to sanctions, as well as progress towards the specific goals stated in December 1, 2000 General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/56.
167. The attention of the Security Council, the Government of Sierra Leone, donor agencies and other interested parties is drawn to the observations and recommendations about corruption and the need for probity contained paragraph 152-3 and in Annex 5. Without serious reform and due diligence within government and government agencies in Sierra Leone, international efforts to assist will be wasted.