“Diamonds are a narrative of love, beauty and worth. You as the so called “KP family” are all supposed to be gaurdians of that narrative. However, as the Diamond Producers Association’s generic marketing of diamonds goes into its third year by targeting women diamond consumers, the realities of the lives of these women could not stand in starker contrast to their counterparts in certain producer states. Whereas the former are to value diamonds as symbols of enduring beauty, love and self-worth, the latter have too often seen them embody enduring pain, suffering and degradation.”
“Where diamonds are not responsibly produced they are proffered with love by one hand whilst ripping it apart with the other. Heightened vulnerability to sexual violence, exploitation or the agony of seeing a son, father, husband or brother maimed or killed in their bid to support their loved ones by the only means available, betrays love. The KP’s continuing refusal to address this betrayal deepens that wound. It amplifies it into a betrayal of communities, into a betrayal of consumers, into a betrayal of all that is good.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, where the diamond sector has destroyed love and faith in producer states, it is incumbent on the Kimberley Process as a whole to restore it. Reform.”
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