Angola
Angola notes results in fight against illicit diamonds

afrol News, 1 November  - According to Angolan government government sources, Angola has "attained positive results in its fight against illicit diamonds trafficking through actions which have included adopting a new certificate of origin and quality." 

A statement released by the ministry of geology and mining at a Luanda international conference on conflict diamonds says that another measure adopted was setting up a special monitoring body in what has contributed to a substantial increase in tax incomes and a cut in conflicts diamonds smuggling. 

For the cutting and trading of diamonds mined in the country, the government established the "Sodiam" company which in its turn created the Ascorp consisting of a participation shared by the Angolan State with 51 per cent and 49 foreign companies with 49 per cent. It holds exclusive right to trade Angolan diamonds on the world market. 

To make Ascorp work easier, the note said, the government also adopted such measures as suspending contracts and sale and purchase licenses. 

Repatriation of foreign smugglers from the trading areas, and the curtailing of concession areas to 3,000 square kilometers and the transformation of the smugglers into legal miners under the Angola diamonds company (Endiama) also form part of the measures implemented by the government, according to the Ministry. 

The Angolan government also has created a new police agency this year to curb the illicit trade of diamonds within its borders. The Diamond Inspection and Security Corps (CSD) is a technical body that is monitoring all aspects of diamond production, certification and sales.

The results include generating revenues for the diamond sector by increasing tax incomes and barring the access of illicit, conflict diamonds to the local and international market, among others.

The restrictions on trade on Angaolan diamonds are part of the UN sanctions against UNITA, which were first imposed in 1993 to block the rebel group's diamond trade and force UNITA into peace talks. Since UNITA abandoned the 1994 peace agreement and restarted the war, the UN has authorized additional sanctions. 

Juan Larrain, the former Chilean ambassador to the UN, earlier this year stated the sanctions, which ban the sale of war materials and fuel to the rebels, restrict international travel by rebels and their relatives, and prohibit the sale of illegally mined diamonds, are taking a toll. "The sanctions are having the desired effect," said Larrain. "There is no doubt that UNITA's military capacity was affected quite a lot by the sanctions."

Last year's report on the illegal diamond trade by Robert Fowler, Canada's ambassador to the UN at the time, spurred efforts to curb the market in "blood diamonds". The UN established the monitoring mechanism to gauge the effectiveness of the sanctions and urge governments to comply with them. Since then, members of the diamond industry have vowed not to buy diamonds from rebel groups in Angola and Sierra Leone. 

Angola is the fourth largest diamond producer after Botswana, Russia and South Africa and UNITA had used diamond sales from areas under its control to finance their war against the Angolan government.

Despite the sanctions and the improved control mechanisms, the illicit diamond trade however continues in Angola, providing UNITA with a source of revenue to continue his military operations. A UN Security Council report issued on 15 October estimates that sanctioned diamonds worth more than US$ 350 million are smuggled out of Angola each year, accounting for an estimated 5 percent of last year's world supply of rough diamonds. The UN estimates that 25 to 30 percent of the smuggled trade is undertaken by UNITA rebels.

Sources: Based on Angolan govt., UN sources and afrol archives

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