A United States-based firm that deals in diamonds has blacklisted diamonds from Zimbabwe due to reported human rights abuses in the Marange.
Washington headquartered Blue Nile, reported to be one of the top jewellers in the US revealed that it will not purchase diamonds from Marange. It said:
Blue Nile is committed to ensuring that the highest ethical standards are observed when sourcing its diamonds and jewellery.
Because of the reported human rights abuses in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond district, Blue Nile will not purchase or offer diamonds from that area.
As a responsible member of the diamond and jewellery industry, we are working with our suppliers to ensure our consumers receive only the finest goods procured from ethical sources.
Centre for Natural Resources Governance director Farai Maguwu said that human rights are ongoing in Marange. Said Maguwu:
The human rights abuses are ongoing in the Marange diamond fields and it’s shocking that nothing tangible is being done to address that.
Miners are being shot there and what needs to be done to address issues in Marange is not even difficult, ZCDC just needs to arrest people rather than shoot them.
Most diamond jewellers obviously will raise their reservations in the event that issues of conflict diamonds are raised.
As you are aware the USA has a network of hundreds of jewellers and when one member raises issues that will definitely cascade to all members in that network.
As civil society organisations, we have raised these issues at several platforms including KPCS [Kimberly Process Certification Scheme].