The country continues to trade diamonds that, as it has been excluded from the Kimberley Process, are illegal, being linked to civil wars and massacres.
The trade in diamonds from the Central African Republic is continuing despite the fact that the country was suspended in May 2013 from the Kimberley Process, the international certification system. The World Diamond Council (WDC) is sounding the alarm, also warning that those who fail to respect the ban "will be subject to sanctions". The KPCS is a certification agreement designed to ensure that profits derived from the diamond trade are not used to finance civil wars.
The Central African Republic, located below Chad between Cameroon and South Sudan, is moreover in the grip of a political crisis that has in recent days caused the arrival of 12,000 refugees in the capital Bangui, fleeing Islamist rebels. The WDC, headquartered in New York, has obtained evidence indicating that diamond production is continuing while precious stones originating from the Central African Republic are reaching external markets. "The illegal trade in diamonds mortgages the efforts of the international community to restore peace, also placing severe strain on the certification system and the efforts of governments, civil society and the industry to eliminate blood diamonds from trade," said Edward Asscher, president of the WDC.
Although the transitional government in Bangui has already called for the embargo to be lifted, in practice the persistent insecurity makes it impossible to send a Kimberley Process assessment mission. Last April, the authorities of neighbouring Cameroon strengthened their security apparatus to "stop the illegal flow of diamonds into our country, the proceeds of which could be used to purchase weapons".
Ranked tenth in the world for the quantity of diamonds extracted, the Central African Republic is instead ranked between fourth and fifth place for the quality of its stones, with annual production fluctuating between 350,000 and 400,000 carats. The sanctions, which have been in force for more than a year, prohibit exports but not production: since then, the value held in stock has been estimated at 100,000 carats, with the ever-growing risk that the diamonds will ultimately be smuggled.