Rapaport Bans Zimbabwe’s Marange Diamonds

The Rapaport Group and the RapNet Diamond Trading Network have implemented an immediate trading ban on all diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields due to severe human rights violations. As Marange rough diamonds are uniquely identifiable, the ban does not apply to diamonds from Zimbabwe that are not from the Marange area.

“The Kimberley Process (KP) is being used as a fig leaf to cover up human rights abuses in the diamond sector. Reports describing abuse have been kept secret by the KP and the World Diamond Council (WDC).

Rapaport calls on the WDC to immediately make public all information it has relating to human rights abuses in the diamond sector, including but not limited to Marange.

We call on the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) to educate its members about human rights abuses in the diamond sector and to immediately halt the trade in Marange diamonds by publicly naming and expelling members that continue to knowingly trade in Marange diamonds,” said Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group.