Blood on the stones

Israel and Hezbollah are challenged: where did the blood diamonds go? They never went away

The annual conference of the Kimberley Process this week in Swakopmund, Namibia, heard that Israel faces accusations that Ivorian rebel diamonds are being smuggled into the country. From January, Israel chairs the KP, which supervises the certification of gemstones to prevent 'conflict diamonds' reaching the world market. The accusations challenge Israel and Africa and undermine Kimberley. The KP began in 2003 yet the 'blood-diamond' business is thriving, said the annual review Diamonds and Human Security, published in mid-October by Partnership Africa Canada. The blame, says PAC, lies with governments that are supposed to have cracked down on the smuggling, human rights abuses and money-laundering that mark the trade.

Article Tags:
Namibia, Israel, Ivorian, Canada, Bernard Esau, Mali, Senegalese, Romanian, Burkina Faso, Lebanese, , Angola, Belgian, Samih Ossailly, Ukrainian, United States, Guinea, Yair Klein, Dov Katz, Dan Gertler, Congo-Kinshasa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, The KP Chair accused, Ghana, Shmuel Mordechai, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, South Africa, Italian, Joseph Kabila, Chinese, Libya, Chad, Sudan, Iraq, Diamonds and Human Security, Forces Nouvelles, Hezbollah, Hezbollah, Hezbollah, Hezbollah, Forces Nouvelles, Haaretz, Haaretz, Haaretz, Africa Confidential, garimpeiros, garimpeiros, garimpeiros, L'Espresso, comptoirs, Banque Centrale du Congo

end of preview

To read the rest of the article you need to either log in or do one of the following:

Subscribe to Africa Confidential Find out more
Purchase this article on its own Find out more

If you have a print subscription already please click here for full access to the website.
If you have already logged in and believe you should have access to this article please contact customer services.