【Central Afri】Central African Republic: International Diamond Embargo Lifted

by

Editor’s Note

The Kimberley Process has voted to fully lift sanctions, permitting diamond exports from all regions of the country for the first time in years. This marks a significant shift for the global diamond trade, which has long grappled with concerns over conflict financing.

End of Sanctions

The Kimberley Process (KP), the global diamond trade regulatory body, meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has proceeded with the full lifting of sanctions. Experts had notably pointed to the financing of armed groups through their trafficking. While sanctions had been partially lifted over the years, only eight out of 24 zones were authorized to trade diamonds. Today, diamonds from all regions of the country will be able to be sold for export.

“This is first and foremost a feeling of justice for the Central African people,” declares Rufin Benam Beltoungou, the Central African Minister of Mines. “There were two main conditions. The return of state authority in terms of security across the territory. And a minimum requirement of the rules of the Kimberley Process. The entire government was committed to it, the Head of State worked for this.”
Civil Society’s Role
“As a Central African, it’s a feeling of pride,” rejoices Paul-Crescent Beninga, a member of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition. A lifting of the embargo particularly important for populations dependent on mining activities, he insists. However, civil society will have to be vigilant about compliance with the demands made by the Kimberley Process.
“It asks, for example, the Central African government, throughout the year 2025, to come and present statistical data related to diamond transactions. And we will ensure that the Central African Republic can respect these conditions. Also, we will monitor issues of transparency in the extraction, marketing, and export process,” adds Paul-Crescent Beninga.
Economic Context and History

The minister warns about the currently particularly low diamond market prices. However, authorities hope that the resumption of diamond production across the entire territory will benefit state coffers. The Central African Republic had been pleading for several months for this total lifting of the embargo, arguing the normalization of the security situation and compliance with KP standards aimed at blocking “blood diamonds” from conflict zones. It is among the poorest countries in the world.

Between 2015 and 2018, the export ban pronounced in 2013 after the overthrow of President François Bozizé by a coalition of mostly Muslim rebels, the Séléka militia, was lifted. But two-thirds of the twenty-four listed diamond mining zones were still under sanction. The rich alluvial diamond deposits, along with gold, constitute one of the most valuable resources of the Central African Republic, with exploration and research permits issued to Chinese, American, Rwandan, and Russian entities linked to the private paramilitary Wagner group.

In 2011, two years before the military coup that later degenerated into an endless civil war, the country officially exported 323,575.30 carats of diamonds for revenue of 29.7 billion CFA francs (approximately 45 million euros). In 2023, this revenue was 324.3 million CFA francs (496,000 euros), according to official figures.

Full article: View original |
⏰ Published on: December 14, 2024