Expulsion
In 2004, Republic of the Congo was removed from the scheme because it was found unable to prove the origin of its gems, most of which were believed to have come from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo. For countries economically dependent on diamond exports, this can be a substantial punishment, as it disallows trade with much of the rest of the world. Republic of the Congo's membership in the KPCS was reinstated in the Plenary of 2007
In 2005, trade with diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire was prohibited. Ivorian diamonds and cocoa are considered to be conflict resources.
In 2008, Venezuela voluntarily removed itself from the KPCS, after it had been in non-compliance for several years. The nation ignored several correspondences from Kimberley working groups, finally responding to an ambassador from Angola in 2007. Venezuela invited Kimberley officials to visit the nation, but this required authorization, and the deadline came and went without further correspondence. Finally Venezuela agreed it would remove itself from the KPCS and work toward strengthening its infrastructure.
Côte d'Ivoire and Venezuela are still considered Kimberley Process members, but not Kimberley Process participants. As explained in the FAQ section of the Kimberley Process website, "Participants in the Kimberley Process (KP) are states or regional economic integration organisations (currently the European Community) that have met the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and are, therefore, eligible to trade in rough diamonds with one another. The KPCS prohibits participants from trading with non-participants. Therefore, while the aforementioned countries still retain membership in the KPCS, they do not fulfill the requirements for participation, and thus cannot be called "participants."
Read more about this topic: Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
Famous quotes containing the word expulsion:
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