Editor’s Note
Cameroon is strengthening its national diamond traceability system to combat smuggling and formalize artisanal mining, aligning with international Kimberley Process standards to ensure only lawful diamonds enter global trade.
Cameroon is reinforcing diamond traceability under the Kimberley Process as part of broader efforts to curb smuggling, formalise artisanal mining and improve the economic returns of its mineral sector. The Permanent National Secretariat of the Kimberley Process says the country has established a national traceability system aimed at ensuring that only diamonds of lawful origin enter the formal international trade circuit, in compliance with international certification requirements. The initiative seeks to protect export revenues, preserve access to global markets and strengthen confidence in Cameroon’s diamond supply chain.
According to Daniel Mackaire Nna, Permanent National Secretary of the Kimberley Process, traceability is a core obligation for participating countries and a critical tool for safeguarding the economic value of mineral production.
Cameroon’s system is designed to prevent the entry of untraceable or potentially conflict-related diamonds into official channels, while ensuring transparency of operations and the reliability of production and trade data. To this end, the Secretariat has deployed focal points in the main diamond-producing basins—particularly in the East, Adamawa and North regions—as well as at key international airports. These focal points are responsible for registering, monitoring and reporting data on diamond production, circulation and marketing.
Standardised traceability documents have also been introduced to centralise information, track physical and financial flows, and identify and monitor actors throughout the national traceability chain. The overall objective is to reinforce the integrity of Cameroon’s certification system and maintain compliance with Kimberley Process standards, thereby safeguarding export earnings.
Despite these efforts, illicit trafficking and smuggling continue to undermine the profitability of the mining sector, especially in countries where artisanal and semi-mechanised mining predominates. Nna noted that these challenges are not unique to Cameroon, but are common in contexts where mining activities are geographically dispersed, involve multiple actors and operate under limited regulatory oversight.
To address these leakages, the Secretariat advocates a systemic approach combining strengthened traceability, effective supervision of operators, improved governance and the progressive formalisation of the value chain. This includes tighter controls at production sites, along commercial corridors and at exit points, alongside the effective implementation of international traceability mechanisms such as the Kimberley Process. Incentive-based measures are also considered essential to encourage artisanal miners to integrate into the formal system, supported by stronger inter-institutional coordination and sustained action against cross-border trafficking networks.
Beyond control measures, the Secretariat identifies production growth and greater state participation as key economic levers. Nna said the sustainable strengthening of diamond and gold output requires the State to move beyond a purely regulatory role and engage more directly in production activities. Such involvement would allow better control over production volumes, secure marketing channels and optimise public revenue mobilisation—an approach already adopted in several producing countries.
He added that stricter upstream supervision of private operators is also necessary, including the validation of feasibility studies, assessment of technical and financial capacity, availability of equipment, and compliance with environmental and social standards.
At the institutional level, effective traceability from production sites to export points depends on robust technical and administrative systems. These include a strengthened field presence, standardised documentation, closer coordination between mining, finance, security and customs administrations, and the use of digital data collection tools. The Secretariat stresses that aligning increased production with strengthened traceability is essential to building a more credible, transparent and economically efficient mining governance framework in Cameroon.