Russia Has Hardly Kept Up With Kimberley Process

Yelena Kiseleva, the correspondent for the publishing house Kommersant Ъ, as a special for Diamonds and Gold of Russia magazine.

At the end of October, the intrigue that could cost Russia the post of the Kimberley Process Chairman was successfully settled. On October 29, the Russian Federation (RF) Ministry of Finance reported that the State Secrets Commission declassified all the information on diamond mining, export and import. In the evening of the same day, the member countries of the Kimbery Process affirmed Russia’s authority as a chairman of the Process for 2005.

“Blood” or conflict diamonds are those illegally mined in world “hotspots”: Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The profits from conflict diamond sales go to financing of anti-government and terroristic movements. The struggle against conflict diamonds (turnover is estimated in 1-1,5%) has been lead through the framework of the Kimberley Process, named after the town in the South African Republic where the Process was first defined. On January 1, 2003 the diamond producing countries, including Russia, declared the introduction of the global system of control over diamond trading. Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canad, two NGOs, are also -participants of the Kimberley Process. Global Witness  received wide renown last year, having published a sensational report in which it was stated that conflict diamonds sales aided the most outrageous terroristic acts of Al Qaeda -- including September 11, 2001.

   On October 29, the RF Ministry of Finance placed in its site a press release about Russia’s intentions to declassify its diamond statistics. According to the document, the Interdepartmental State Secrets Commission had made the decision on October 25. The release mentions “the possibility of publishing the statistical data (of the period from January 1, 2003) quarterly or yearly, concerning rough diamond import to the RF (mentioning the supplying countries) and export from the RF (mentioning the buying countries)”. This information is declassified in “volumes necessary for meeting the demands of the International Natural Diamond Classification Scheme developed in the framework of the Kimberley Process”.

   How had the controversy begun?. Some days before the last plenary session of the Kimberley Process in Ottawa (October, 2004), one of the Process participants, the NGO GlobalWitness, circulated a press release (21/10/2004) the Russian Federation has not declassified data on diamond mining and marketing. ““Russia’s non-compliance for almost two years on this key issue brings its proposed chairmanship of the Kimberley Process in 2005 into serious doubt,” Global Witness asserts. 

  That action, on the eve of the Kimberley Process plenary session, could have seriously hurt Russia’s plan to succeed Canada into the post of Chairman. The country that takes the hairman position is elected for a one-year term and coordinates all activities of the global system controlling the diamond turnover.

When Canada was elected Chairman of the Kimberley Process last year, Russia received a consolatory prize – a newly established post of a vice-chairman, which was filled by the president of Yakutia Vyacheslav Shtirov.

 However, it was not he who promised to declassify diamond statistics by October 27, but officials of the Ministry of Finance. At the end of August, 2004, during the visit to Moscow of Tim Martin, the present Canadian chairman of the Process, the director of the Ministry of Finance administrative department Sergey Vyazalov stated the following: “We, as the Russian Federation, pledge ourselves to sign the decree (about declassifying the data of extraction volumes, rough diamonds export and import)  before the plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process”.

 Russia joined the world system of controlling diamonds turnover long ago, but, strictly speaking, it is not yet a true participant. Kimberley Process Country-Participants have been exchanging statistics since last spring. Russia hasn’t yet presented any data, despite the fact that half a year ago the amendments to the law “About state secret”, declassifying such data, came into force. However, in order to implement the changes, a Presidential decree and a number of departmental decrees are required. The preparation of those stopped because of State apparatus reform. Also, during the administrative reform, Mr.Vyazalov left the Ministry of Finance.

 Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance official kept its promise: According to the Ministry of Finance press release, the decision was dated October 25, 2004. That seemed to be unexpected by both Global Witness and the Russian officials who traveled to Ottawa. Before leaving, one official said that “a commission of the state secret hasn’t been formed yet”. It turns out that either it was formed suddenly, or the delegates were not notified.

 “I must confess it was difficult. The RF made a very strong appeal, and it was received as a cold shower. We stated that official assurances of Russia had been ignored by a number of Kimberley Process participants, and that such tactics might cause a crises. As a result, the formulation offered by us was taken as a basis for the final statement,” announced one of the members of the Russian delegation. The plenary meeting ended by ratification of Russia as a Chairman of the Kimberley Process for 2005. As of the 1st January Vyacheslav Shtirov will head the struggle against conflict diamonds and Botswana will become vice-president of the process.

 As for the first publication concerning Russian diamonds statistics, it is expected to be released in the near future.