Source: United Nations 4
Note: Full coverage of today’s meeting of the General Assembly will be available Wednesday, 26 March.
The General Assembly today adopted resolutions on a range of topics, from the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict to a high-level conference on Rohingyas in Myanmar, while also holding a special event to pay tribute to the 15 million men, women and children from Africa who were trafficked into slavery.
Conflict Diamonds
The resolution on “The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict: breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts” (document A/79/L.63) was adopted without a vote, following the United States’ unsuccessful bid to remove four paragraphs that refer to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
An overwhelming majority — 144 Member States — voted in favour of retaining those paragraphs, defeating two negative votes cast by the United States and Argentina. Six delegations — Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Libya, Maldives, Panama and Paraguay — abstained on the vote.
By its terms, the Assembly reaffirmed the importance of the tripartite nature of the Kimberley Process and stressed that the widest possible participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is essential.
The Kimberley Process, an international certification scheme for rough diamonds, is open to all countries, and began when southern African diamond-producing States met in Kimberley, South Africa, in May 2000, to discuss ways to tackle the financing of violence by armed movements through the illicit diamond trade.
Introducing the text, the representative of the United Arab Emirates said the current resolution reflects a “shared commitment to fostering a sustainable and responsible diamond industry that benefits millions around the world”. The representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as observer, voiced support for reforming the Kimberley Process. Unfortunately, due to lack of consensus, “the definition of conflict diamonds remains very narrow”, she said, stressing the need to ensure the Process remains relevant and credible in a changing world. The Russian Federation’s delegation, however, rejecting the pressure from Western countries to unilaterally filter the diamonds that are entering the main market, said this attempt by consumer countries to deliberately thwart tried and tested multilateral mechanisms is reckless and incompetent.
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