A recent report by Green Advocates International (GAI) has uncovered alarming deficiencies in Liberia’s adherence to the Kimberley Certification Scheme (KPCS) due to the deteriorating state of the nation’s regional diamond regulatory offices.
The findings highlight a critical threat to the integrity of Liberia’s diamond trade, with the poor condition of these regulatory offices jeopardizing compliance with international standards.
Conducted by the rights-based non-profit organization, the assessment covered nine Government Regional Diamond Offices (RDOs) across Liberia from late 2023 to early 2024. The primary goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of these offices, which are vital for the preliminary valuation and documentation of diamonds.
The Kimberley Process, established in 2003, is an international trade regime designed to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds—rough diamonds used by rebel groups to fund conflicts. Following a 14-year civil war and a UN-imposed ban, Liberia joined the Kimberley Process in September 2007, pledging to harness its diamond resources for peaceful development.
To comply with the Kimberley Process, Liberia set up nine RDOs in major diamond-producing regions: Bahn, Ganta, and Gbarpa in Nimba County; Tubmanburg in Bomi County; Camp Alpha and Weasua in Gbarpolu County; Lofa Bridge and Kavilahun in Gbarpolu County; and Kakata in Margibi County. These offices were tasked with the preliminary valuation and recording of diamonds to prevent illicit trade and promote responsible mining.
However, the GAI report reveals a grim reality. The RDOs have fallen into disrepair, severely undermining the Kimberley Process in Liberia. Contributing factors include inadequate funding, a lack of operational capacity, unpaid rent, and staffing shortages due to retirements and abandoned posts.
With the regional offices now largely non-functional, diamond mining in Liberia has become mostly self-regulated. Local miners are forced to travel to Monrovia for registration, rely on regional officers working from home, engage with diamond brokers, or resort to smuggling diamonds out of the country through porous borders. This lack of regulation has fueled the illicit diamond trade, significantly compromising the Kimberley Process’s mandate for a transparent diamond supply chain.
The assessment suggests that the government’s failure to effectively regulate and secure diamond mining operations is damaging legitimate businesses. Licensed miners are struggling against competition from illegal operators, leading to frustration and urgent calls for government intervention.
“Diamond mining in Liberia is now more challenging than ever,” lamented a licensed miner from Bahn, Nimba County. “Without government oversight, we can no longer safely show our diamonds. Any illicit miner with a valuable find can sell it before anyone even knows.”
Local miners are urging the Liberian government to reopen the RDOs and address the issues that led to their closure. They believe that operational diamond offices in mining regions would help prevent diamonds from falling into the wrong hands. Additionally, they are calling for the establishment of diamond buying houses at these offices to ensure a reliable and transparent market for selling their diamonds.
A miner from Garpa, Nimba County, stressed the importance of local diamond offices: “We used to be able to go to the local diamond office to record and examine our finds, but for the past few years, we’ve had to take our diamonds to Monrovia. Reopening the local offices will help curb illegal mining. We also want the government to create a special department to buy diamonds directly from miners.”
The report also sheds light on the plight of former regional officers. One retired officer from a major mining district recalled how the Ministry of Mines and Energy retired them in 2020, only to later request their return to work. “We told them that we cannot be retired and continue to work. Since then, this office has been abandoned, and there are no government officials to oversee mining activities in this area.”
The report concludes that to attract and sustain investment in the diamond sector, Liberia must uphold the Kimberley Process’s integrity by enforcing robust internal controls over diamond production and trade.
Failure to do so could have severe consequences for the country’s diamond industry and its international standing.
The closure of the RDOs has drastically weakened the traceability and enforcement of rough diamonds. Under the Kimberley Process, exporters are required to provide clear evidence that diamonds were mined legally in Liberia. Without improved internal controls, it becomes nearly impossible to ensure that only legally sourced diamonds enter the legitimate global market.
Liberia is at a critical juncture. To restore confidence and integrity in its diamond industry, the government must act swiftly to rehabilitate the regional diamond offices and re-establish stringent oversight mechanisms.
Only then can Liberia honor its commitment to the Kimberley Process and secure a prosperous future for its diamond sector.
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