MEMBER LOGIN
RESPONSIBLE DIAMONDS POSITION STATEMENT
Jewelers of America advocates high ethical, social and environmental standards in the diamond and jewelry trade and among its members.
Jewelers of America members must adhere to our Code of Professional Practices, which includes human rights, social and environmental responsible business practices.
We believe a commitment to responsible diamonds must include suppliers, to ensure that responsible practices are addressed at every point in the supply chain. Without the engagement of all segments of our industry, retailers’ individual pledges to source responsibly will not be meaningful. With that in mind, we are working closely with a wide range of both industry and non-industry stakeholders (including the Responsible Jewellery Council* (RJC), the World Diamond Council (WDC), the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), the U.S. Department of State and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)) to support good practices at every level of the diamond jewelry supply chain.
Jewelers of America is a founding member of the RJC. Jewelers of America also participates in initiatives such as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), the United Nations-mandated system that regulates rough diamonds in order to stop the trade in conflict diamonds. Jewelers of America also serves on the board of the DDI, which is working to develop standards for the artisanal mining sector.
DIAMONDS FROM ZIMBABWE
Jewelers of America is deeply concerned about the reported human rights violations in the Marange region of Zimbabwe and other problems related to diamonds from the region. These include apparent violations of the Kimberley Process Joint Work Plan (JWP), instituted with Zimbabwe's consent, at the November 2009 KP Plenary. The plan was implemented in order to address significant non-compliance on the part of Zimbabwe with the minimum requirements of the KPCS. It included the suspension of all diamond exports from Marange until a KP Monitor could certify that shipments from the region were KP compliant.
As a result of the most recent information coming out of Zimbabwe, and the fact that the situation continues to change on the ground, Jewelers of America has taken the following actions:
The association remains actively involved in resolving this complex issue. Matthew A. Runci liaises with representatives of the U.S. State Department and key members of Congress, and remains engaged with various industry stakeholders and NGO’s, who are working to improve the situation in Zimbabwe.
Along with the WDC, of which we are a member, we stand ready to do our part. However, we believe governments and international agencies have a crucial role to play. We believe positive engagement between all the stakeholders, governments, NGOs and industry will be critical in developing real, long-term solutions.
CONFLICT DIAMONDS
Diamonds are meant to be a gift of love, and Jewelers of America abhors the way in which some gems have been used to fund conflict. To stop this practice, key industry representatives, including Jewelers of America, worked with governments and NGOs around the world to bring about the KPCS, launched in 2002. KP regulates 99% of the rough diamond trade worldwide, through a system of import/export controls that prevents conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate supply chain. KP is supported and mandated by the United Nations with 75 nations currently participating. At the upcoming KP Inter-Sessional, JA will support a call for reforms, including a push to expand KP’s mandate to include human rights issues around diamond mining.
Jewelers of America advises our members to ask their suppliers for written warranties (under the KPCS approved industry ‘System of Warranties’), stating that their diamonds come from Kimberley-certified sources and are not involved in funding conflict. The warranty statement, which was officially recognized at the creation of the KP, reads:
“The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the suppliers of these diamonds.”
*RESPONSIBLE JEWELLERY COUNCIL
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has created a worldwide diamond and gold jewelry supply chain system for companies in all sectors, from mining through to retail. RJC published its core system documents in 2008. These included a requirement that members undertake third-party verification of their responsible practices by independent auditors, as defined by the RJC Code of Practices. RJC’s system was officially launched in 2009. It was developed over an intensive, four-year period and involved wide-ranging and transparent consultation with the industry and its stakeholders. RJC recently completed its Mining Supplement standards, developed over an 18-month period that involved three public comment periods, logging nearly 400 comments and the RJC’s responses. Jewelers of America represents the viewpoint of our members within RJC, and many of our members also belong as individual companies to RJC.
Updated June 10, 2010
Jewelers of America members must adhere to our Code of Professional Practices, which includes human rights, social and environmental responsible business practices.
We believe a commitment to responsible diamonds must include suppliers, to ensure that responsible practices are addressed at every point in the supply chain. Without the engagement of all segments of our industry, retailers’ individual pledges to source responsibly will not be meaningful. With that in mind, we are working closely with a wide range of both industry and non-industry stakeholders (including the Responsible Jewellery Council* (RJC), the World Diamond Council (WDC), the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), the U.S. Department of State and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)) to support good practices at every level of the diamond jewelry supply chain.
Jewelers of America is a founding member of the RJC. Jewelers of America also participates in initiatives such as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), the United Nations-mandated system that regulates rough diamonds in order to stop the trade in conflict diamonds. Jewelers of America also serves on the board of the DDI, which is working to develop standards for the artisanal mining sector.
DIAMONDS FROM ZIMBABWE
Jewelers of America is deeply concerned about the reported human rights violations in the Marange region of Zimbabwe and other problems related to diamonds from the region. These include apparent violations of the Kimberley Process Joint Work Plan (JWP), instituted with Zimbabwe's consent, at the November 2009 KP Plenary. The plan was implemented in order to address significant non-compliance on the part of Zimbabwe with the minimum requirements of the KPCS. It included the suspension of all diamond exports from Marange until a KP Monitor could certify that shipments from the region were KP compliant.
As a result of the most recent information coming out of Zimbabwe, and the fact that the situation continues to change on the ground, Jewelers of America has taken the following actions:
- On May 6, Jewelers of America President & CEO Matthew A. Runci sent a letter on behalf of JA members to Stephane Chardon, chair of the Kimberley Process Working Group on Monitoring (WGM). The full text can be found here.
- The letter states, among other things, Jewelers of America's grave concern over the reports of violations of the JWP and our belief that the KP should not authorize the resumption of shipments of any goods from Marange, until the exact situation on the ground has become clearer and corrective measures have been taken.
- We have advised members of other serious issues around goods from Marange, beyond the scope of the KP. These include unresolved questions about the legal ownership of diamonds mined in the Marange region, and the fact that a number of Zimbabwean entities and individuals are on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list.
- We’ve recommend that JA members do what they can, within their spheres of influence, to protect the legal integrity of the diamonds they trade in. This includes asking their suppliers to provide additional written reassurances, beyond the WDC’s System of Warranties statement, that the diamonds they supply have not been obtained in violation of applicable national laws and/or sanctions. We believe diamonds from the Marange region of Zimbabwe should be considered such a violation at the present time.
The association remains actively involved in resolving this complex issue. Matthew A. Runci liaises with representatives of the U.S. State Department and key members of Congress, and remains engaged with various industry stakeholders and NGO’s, who are working to improve the situation in Zimbabwe.
Along with the WDC, of which we are a member, we stand ready to do our part. However, we believe governments and international agencies have a crucial role to play. We believe positive engagement between all the stakeholders, governments, NGOs and industry will be critical in developing real, long-term solutions.
CONFLICT DIAMONDS
Diamonds are meant to be a gift of love, and Jewelers of America abhors the way in which some gems have been used to fund conflict. To stop this practice, key industry representatives, including Jewelers of America, worked with governments and NGOs around the world to bring about the KPCS, launched in 2002. KP regulates 99% of the rough diamond trade worldwide, through a system of import/export controls that prevents conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate supply chain. KP is supported and mandated by the United Nations with 75 nations currently participating. At the upcoming KP Inter-Sessional, JA will support a call for reforms, including a push to expand KP’s mandate to include human rights issues around diamond mining.
Jewelers of America advises our members to ask their suppliers for written warranties (under the KPCS approved industry ‘System of Warranties’), stating that their diamonds come from Kimberley-certified sources and are not involved in funding conflict. The warranty statement, which was officially recognized at the creation of the KP, reads:
“The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the suppliers of these diamonds.”
*RESPONSIBLE JEWELLERY COUNCIL
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has created a worldwide diamond and gold jewelry supply chain system for companies in all sectors, from mining through to retail. RJC published its core system documents in 2008. These included a requirement that members undertake third-party verification of their responsible practices by independent auditors, as defined by the RJC Code of Practices. RJC’s system was officially launched in 2009. It was developed over an intensive, four-year period and involved wide-ranging and transparent consultation with the industry and its stakeholders. RJC recently completed its Mining Supplement standards, developed over an 18-month period that involved three public comment periods, logging nearly 400 comments and the RJC’s responses. Jewelers of America represents the viewpoint of our members within RJC, and many of our members also belong as individual companies to RJC.
Updated June 10, 2010