Expanding the scope of the Kimberley Process to include issues related to human rights and labour relations, as is being advocated by the World Diamond Council (WDC), will help create conditions in which Sub-Saharan Africa’s artisanal diamond miners can meet their economic potential, and so support the development of their countries’ economies, says WDC executive director Marie-Chantal Kaninda. In delivering the opening address at the sixth forum of the Africa-Belgium Business Week meeting on Wednesday, she referenced the peace agreement signed in February by the Central African Republic government and 14 rebel groups, which was aimed at ending the country’s seven-year civil war.
