Feriel Zerouki, President of the World Diamond Council (WDC), opened the 2025 Kimberley Process (KP) Plenary with a decisive call for participants to support a modernized definition of “conflict diamonds,” marking a pivotal moment for the international certification scheme.
Ms. Zerouki highlighted three years of hard work, drafting and negotiation led by the WDC and honoured the leadership of African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) and Civil Society Coalition. “It is clear that Africa wants progress,” she said.
The 2025 Kimberley Process Plenary is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 17 to 22, hosted under the chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates, which holds the KP Chair for the 2025 cycle.
The Plenary brings together representatives from 86 participating governments, the World Diamond Council, the Civil Society Coalition, the African Diamond Producers Association, and a wide range of observer organizations and technical experts.
Over the course of the week, delegates will review the work of KP working groups, negotiate the proposed expansion of the conflict-diamond definition, and address governance, monitoring and compliance issues that shape the integrity of the global rough-diamond trade.
“Today, we stand together at a crossroads,” Ms. Zerouki said. “Will participants choose to move the Kimberley Process forward, or will some choose to hold it back?”
The WDC President, whose term will end in May 2026, stressed that the expanded definition would extend protection to 1.5 million artisanal diamond miners and allow KP intervention where communities are vulnerable.
“We are at the line,” Ms. Zerouki said. “Let us have the courage and unity to cross it.”