The Russian Federation sponsored a review visit of the Kimberley Process (KP) from April 5–12. Its objective was to evaluate how well the Russian Federation complied with the minimal standards set forth by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).
22 delegates in all, serving as team leaders, traveled to Russia on behalf of Angola, Belarus, Cameroon, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Leading the tour as Team Leader was Ezekiel Mafara, Head of Sales Department of National Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe. The World Diamond Council (WDC) sent representatives to Russia as well.
In Yakutia, at the diamond deposit of the company PJSC “ALROSA,” at the specialized Customs post of the Central Excise Customs, where state and Customs controls over the import and export of rough diamonds are carried out, and at Sheremetyevo Airport, where the majority of shipments of rough diamonds arrive in and depart from Russia, the delegates visited the Ministry of Finance of Russia, which is the body responsible for determining the state policy in implementing the minimum requirements of the KP.
The review visit’s conclusion is that Russia completely complies with and adheres to the KPCS standards, according to Evgeny Sidin, Deputy Head of the Department for State Policy of the Precious Metals and Precious Stones sector. Additionally, Russia possesses knowledge and abilities that other Participants might use as best practices.
In his reflections on the trip to Russia, Ezekiel Mafara stated: “We were able to cover all of the ground we had planned to cover; we visited the deposits in Mirny and Nakyn, witnessed open-pit and underground mining operations, the mining and processing plant, the sorting center, and all of the activities occurring there, including the customs procedures involving the arrival and departure of rough diamonds to or from the Russian Federation.”
“The KP was able to bring all participants for one common good, dissolving conflicts, particularly those that occurred on the African continent, and contributed to finding a way out of the situation,” Ezekiel Mafara said in reference to the goal and function of the KP. It seems like something that has been accomplished. As you may remember, the KPCS processes 99 percent of the diamonds that are presently sold worldwide. Put otherwise, the KP succeeded in eliminating disputes. Furthermore, the KPCS offers an additional benefit in that decisions are made by consensus.