{"id":66376,"date":"2026-02-10T18:27:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=66376"},"modified":"2026-02-10T18:27:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:57:41","slug":"india-chair-kimberley-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-02-2026\/india-chair-kimberley-process","title":{"rendered":"India to Chair Kimberley Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India <\/strong>has assumed the <strong>chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) <\/strong>for the<strong> year 2026.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The chair oversees the <strong>implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) <\/strong>and operations of the working groups, committees and administration that activate the KP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kimberley Process (KP)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The KP is a multinational mechanism or structure for governing the trade of <strong>\u2018conflict diamonds\u2019.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These are rough (or pre-polished) diamonds which are<strong> used illegally by rebel or insurgent groups <\/strong>across the world to undermine or threaten legitimate governments.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The KP was initiated in <strong>2000 <\/strong>when the countries of southern Africa initiated dialogues to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Negotiations with 37 signatory parties,<\/strong> in 2003, led to the <strong>Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>KPCS<\/strong> is the mechanism the KP uses to prevent the trade of conflict diamonds.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is enforced<strong> individually by KP Participant countries <\/strong>to ensure that rough diamonds in the legitimate supply chain are KP-compliant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The KP has 60 participants,<\/strong> representing 86 countries, and accounts for approximately 99.8% of the global rough diamond production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trade in Rough Diamonds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The trade is permitted <strong>only between certified KP members<\/strong> who comply fully with these international standards.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Obligations for Countries:<\/strong> Participant countries are obliged to share timely and accurate statistical data for diamond production and trade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f6f7f8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"804\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-51.png\" alt=\"kimberley process\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-66377\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f6f7f8; width:509px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-51.png 804w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-51-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-51-768x544.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Major Producer: <\/strong>Angola, Botswana, Canada, Congo, Namibia and Russia alone account for more than 85% of the production of rough diamonds, in quantity and value terms.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Though India is not a producer,<\/strong> it is a <strong>major importer <\/strong>of rough diamonds, importing roughly 40% of the total global imports.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is a leading cutting and polishing hub, centered in Surat and Mumbai.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India re-exports polished diamonds to major markets which include China, Hong Kong, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Relevance to KP: <\/strong>India\u2019s strategic position, at the heart of the global diamond value chain, gives it unique leverage within the KP to steer meaningful reforms in global diamond governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Definition of Conflict Diamonds:<\/strong> Its scope is very narrow, capturing only the financial mechanism between rebel groups and governments, while ignoring the illicit use of rough diamonds in state-linked abuses, human rights violations and human trafficking, environmental harm, abuses in artisanal mining, and illicit trade channels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Decision Making Process: <\/strong>Consensus-based system allows any participant to exercise a political veto, this weakens enforcement and credibility of KP decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How India can Bring Reforms?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Agenda Expansion:<\/strong> As KP Chair, India can form a technical working group on violence and human rights risks beyond rebel insurgencies, building evidence and consensus before any redefinition of \u201cconflict diamonds,\u201d without reopening political deadlocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology-Led Transparency:<\/strong> India can leverage its digital strengths to introduce tamper-proof, blockchain-based KP certification, with unique, time-stamped shipment records and harmonised customs data exchange to curb fraud and modernise KP operations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity Building over Punitive Measures:<\/strong> Establish regional KP technical hubs in central and eastern Africa to provide training, IT support, certification assistance and forensic capacity, making compliance collaborative rather than coercive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Accountability Reforms:<\/strong> Promote independent or third-party audits for selected KP participants and push for full public disclosure of granular KP statistics to enhance credibility and trust.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>From Restriction to Responsibility: <\/strong>Reorient KP\u2019s narrative from merely blocking conflict diamonds to enabling a responsible, inclusive and community-benefiting diamond trade, ensuring revenues support health, education and local infrastructure in mining regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/a-chance-for-india-to-polish-the-kimberley-process\/article70612197.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India has assumed the chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) for the year 2026.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Kimberley Process (KP) <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The KP is a multinational mechanism or structure for governing the trade of \u2018conflict diamonds\u2019. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> These are rough (or pre-polished) diamonds which are used illegally by rebel or insurgent groups across the world to undermine or threaten legitimate governments.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-02-2026\/india-chair-kimberley-process\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66390,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66376\/revisions\/66390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}