The European Union has for the first time been designated to the presidency of the “Kimberley Process”, the international initiative aimed at breaking the illicit link between the diamond trade and the funding of wars, especially in African regions. At the present time 44 states participate in the Kimberley Process, which opened in 2002, together with the introduction of a system of certification: a certificate should accompany every international shipment of raw diamonds. The European Union which also represents the most important world market for the trading of raw diamonds will assume the presidency from 2007 with the aim of “breaking the link between the illicit exploitation of natural resources and armed conflicts and favouring as wide as possible an application of the system of certification”. For further info, also by video: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/kimb/intro/index.htm
