Attending the Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP) for the first time last month, I was once again struck by the deep commitment and sense of doing the right thing that diamond industry and other representatives bring to these gatherings.It also reminded me of an article I wrote for IDEX several years ago where I spoke of the feeling, among many diamantaires, that these international meetings were a pleasant experience for those attending, and possibly little more than that.
“Who wouldn’t like to be a top official at one of the diamond industry’s international organizations,” I wrote at the time. “Flying first class, nice hotels, fancy dinners, meeting ministers and presidents, giving speeches and receiving or giving awards. All dutifully reported by the diamond industry trade press.
“Well, the international meetings create awareness throughout the diamond industry and in the wider global press that members of the trade care about how and with whom they do business,” I answered the question.
