The United States Embassy in Harare, admitted that it does not have any direct proof of forced labour in Zimbabwe’s diamond mines, while banning import of rough diamonds from that country. Zimbabwe has been on the receiving end for quite some time. The embassy officials admitted that it acted on the suspension of import of rough diamonds upon reports from third parties.
The US authorities, this week issued a Withhold Release Order preventing Zimbabwean parcels from entering the American market. The backlash of this step will be severe on the fledgling economy of Zimbabwe.
Analysts feel this step as a new attempt to blacklist Zimbabwean goods ahead of a Kimberly Process Certification Scheme intercession meeting to be held shortly. To add fuel to fire, the US is also set to promulgate an anti-trophy hunting law called “Cecil Act” inspired by the killing of Cecil the Lion at Hwange National Park by an American millionaire dentist, Walter Palmer, in 2015. Key stakeholders in the diamond sector decried the US move against Zimbabwean diamonds. They say that it is a deliberate attempt by the US to arm-twist poorer economies. They say that thousands of artisans involved in the diamond business will get affected by this move, which is unfortunate and mis-founded. This is a knee jerk reaction to hearsay, which was least expected from a country like the US, which has its own system to verify what is going on. It may be noted that the move for banning import has come at the recommendation of the US Embassy in Harare.
