Members of Civil Society confirmed attending the KP Plenary in Dubai, in response to an official invitation sent by the KP Chair on October 13, 2016, urging members of Civil Society Coalition to attend KP Plenary. The purpose is to discuss and make joint progress on industry-critical topics such as rough diamond valuation, and the possibility of installing a Permanent Secretariat under the mandate of the United Nations.

The office of the UAE Kimberley Process Chair (KP Chair) announced the attendance of the members of Civil Society. The Plenary is slated between November 13-17, 2016.

CENADEP (Centre National D’Appui au Dévelopment et à la participation populaire) responded by letter stating, “given the progress made in the implementation of issues raised by the Civil Society Coalition, and having obtained the opinion of the Congolese Government on the participation of Civil Society in the Kimberley Process, CENADEP accepts the invitation of the KP Chair at the Plenary in November 2016 and believes that the best way to lend credibility to the KP process is by re-enlisting within the KP family to address different challenges inside, and not outside,” wrote Albert Kabuya Muyeba of CENADEP.

In regard to rough diamond valuation, the letter stated that the CENADEP welcomed the progress of discussions around diamond valuation and the efforts made by the KP Chair to particularly address the issue of synthetic diamonds and that of the recess of the internal control systems in member countries and was “an initiative that we must support.”

CENADEP also welcomed the initiative taken by the KP Chair to install a Permanent Secretariat under the mandate of UN. Dr Ola Bello, Executive Director of GGA, who is also attending the KP Plenary, said: “We are very pleased to see that in reflection of Africa’s tradition, the KP Chair and some members of the Civil Society have decided to reconcile their differences and bring forward a positive agenda for change of the KP.”

“We have made significant progress this year within several areas of the Kimberley Process but we need to work together – not in silos. As KP Chair, I am delighted that members of Civil Society will attend the Plenary in Dubai so that we can collaboratively bring all the work which has been done over the last nine months to a good end. Our proposal to fund the participation of additional members of the CSC at the KP Plenary stands.” said Mr. Bin Sulayem, KP Chair.