By Colin McClelland
Luanda - A British-based watchdog group slammed diamond giant De Beers on Wednesday for failing to take a lead in efforts to stop gem sales funding wars in Sierra Leone and Angola.
Global Witness said in a statement that the role of the commercial sector was "absolutely key" to ensuring that, in Angola's case, legally licensed buyers were not buying rebel-harvested diamonds, then acquiring official certificates.
"De Beers, in particular, has the capacity to take a lead in the urgently needed industry reforms to stop diamonds from funding conflict in countries such as Sierra Leone and Angola. But so far it has failed to do so," the group said.
De Beers spokeswoman Tracy Peterson said the firm was working with the United Nations to solve the problem and noted that it had stopped buying Angolan diamonds last year, except for gems it was under contract to acquire.
Since 1999, UN inspectors have been working to tighten sanctions on the rebels, making it difficult for them to export diamonds and use the proceeds to buy arms.
The United Nations estimates that the rebel movement Unita, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, has earned up to $4-billion from illegal diamond exports since 1992, helping to fund its war against the government. A 1994 peace deal crumbled under renewed fighting in December 1998.
Over the past four months, government troops have captured several rebel bases and pushed UNITA to the south and east of the oil-and-diamond rich African country.
While commending the Angolan government for finally heeding criticism about its proposed certificate of origin system, Global Witness said the lengthy delays in closing off loopholes had undermined the UN's embargo against Unita diamond sales.
It also sought clarity on who was in charge of implementing the system.
"Which is the lead body, is it the Ministry of Commerce or Endiama? And what are the roles of the National Bank of Angola and the ministry of mines and geology? Currently there is serious lack of clarity between these players as to how the system works," it said in its statement.
It said loopholes in the system included the lack of a printed name under the signature; repeated failure to supply lists of names of officials authorised to sign; easily forgeable documents; conflicting official stamps, and failure to provide authorised examples to importing authorities.
The proposed certificate of origin, which has not been implemented, is a step towards ensuring international confidence about Angolan diamonds, it said.
The UN first introduced sanctions aimed at Unita in 1993. Initially limited to weapons, the measures expanded to include financial transactions, bans on travelling for UNITA's senior members and in mid-1998 the sale of Unita-harvested diamonds. - Reuters