KP's Diversity Should Be Strength

In her first speech to the Kimberley Process as President of the World Diamond Council, Feriel Zerouki has stressed that the diversity of opinion and background of the KP’s members – Participants and Observers alike – should be considered not a deficiency but rather a source of strength. She was speaking during the Opening Session of the organization’s 2023 Intersessional Meeting, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

“I appreciate that there are national and business interests at stake, and that we all are committed to faithfully representing the countries and organizations that we represent,” she said. “But my own lived experience has taught me of the inability to predict people’s opinions or positions based on where they come from, and that a diverse group ultimately enables more successful and stable outcomes, as long as we constantly seek to recognize each other’s positive intentions. After all, we all stand behind one objective, and that is the success of the KP.”

The WDC President expressed her belief that it is possible for the Kimberley Process to build consensus around two cardinal principles. The first is that natural diamond resources need to provide fair and equitable benefit to the people and countries from which they originate, and this includes enabling those people to utilize those resources for their own wellbeing and long-term development. The second is that the success of the natural diamond economy is dependent upon the product maintaining its status as an aspirational purchase from a consumer perspective.

“These principles are not independent of one another. If the one is not met, it’s unlikely the other will be,” she stated.