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 ماسة... في عيد الحب!
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!happy Valentine's Day to you all
Remember that in some part of the world, people are giving conflict diamonds to their loved ones as presents
Here is the report from Amnesty International
Conflict Diamonds: The Valentine's Day deception
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International
AI Index: POL 30/005/2005 14 February 2005
Conflict Diamonds: The Valentine's Day deception
This Valentine’s Day (14 February) diamond retailers will be
touting the ultimate symbol of love and devotion, but according
to Amnesty International consumers can expect little reassurance
that their diamonds are not products of war and human rights
violations.
A survey of diamond retailers and suppliers in Australia and six
European countries found that fewer than one in five companies
surveyed could provide a meaningful account of their policy to
prevent the trade in diamonds from regions of conflict.
The disappointing results come more than two years after the
diamond industry committed itself to a system of self regulation
including the issuing of written warranties and the
implementation of a code of conduct in support of the
international Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.
"The trade in conflict diamonds in countries like Angola,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone, has
already led to the destruction of nations and cost millions of
lives. Yet for some companies the response has been, 'we are not
concerned, there are other things more important in life,'" said
Alessandra Masci of Amnesty International.
Between July and December 2004, Amnesty International sent
letters and questionnaires to diamond retailers in Australia,
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and
Switzerland.
Out of 291 companies that were sent requests for written
information about their policies, 67% failed to respond. Of the
96 companies that did respond:
63% (60 out of 96 ) admitted to having no policy on conflict
diamonds;
Only 36% stated that they have a policy to prevent dealing in
conflict diamonds. However, 77% ( 27 out of 35 ) of those who
stated they have a policy do not provide adequate details on how
the system of warranties is being implemented and what polices,
procedures and auditing measures companies have in place to back
them up.
56% said they never or rarely asked their suppliers to provide
warranties that their diamonds were conflict free;
Less than 20% provided their customers with a warranty as
standard practice.
This survey follows the one carried out last summer in the UK
and USA* and shows that the diamond industry in Europe and
Australia is even further behind the UK and the USA in terms of
its overall response and implementation of the self-regulation
policy.The results show the urgent need for greater government
oversight of the diamond industry's self regulation system. In
particular governments should carry out rigorous auditing and
inspections of diamond companies to ensure that the diamond
industry is implementing its own self-regulation and, most
importantly, that this effectively halts the trade in conflict
diamonds.
Consumers can also play an important role in pressuring diamond
jewellery retailers to follow through on commitments to combat
conflict diamond trading. Valentine’s Day is an important time
for consumers to raise this issue. When they buy diamonds
customers should demand written warranties showing that the
diamonds they are being sold are conflict free and therefore not
contributing to human rights abuses.
*: For a full report of the survey carried out in the UK and the
USA , please see Dejavu - The diamond industry still failing to
deliver on promises, a report by Amnesty International and
Global Witness (PDF format)
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadbmUabecjObb0g6Xb/
Economic globalization and human rights:
http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadbmUabecjPbb0g6Xb/[...********************
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إيمان أحمد
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست