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Industry Coalition Meets with State Dep't Over Zimbabwe

Representatives from leading diamond associations convened in Washington, D.C. Monday for a meeting with U.S. State Department officials to discuss the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe.

The declared intention for the meeting was to call for more action by the Kimberley Process (KP) in implementing the previously agreed upon joint work plan and bring Zimbabwe into full KP compliance.

The working plan was developed at the last KP meeting in Namibia. It was formed to address allegations of non-compliance and human rights violations by Zimbabwe in the Marange diamond fields. The plan states that diamond exports from the Marange area need be examined by a KP-designated monitor and that no exports from that region are permitted until a monitor is in place. So far, a monitor is yet to be appointed.

The statement did not detail who the group met with at the State Department. While a number of U.S.-based industry organizations attended the meeting - including representatives from the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers of America (DMIA), the Diamond Dealers Club of New York (DDC), the United States Kimberley Process Authority (USKPA) and the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) - KP Chair Boaz Hirsch who is currently in the U.S. for a number of meetings did not attend the meeting, IDEX Online has learned