The sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council against the rebel movements in Sierra Leone and Angola and against the Liberian government, prohibiting under certain conditions imports of rough diamonds from Liberia, Angola and Sierra Leone have not been able to stop the flow of conflict diamonds into the legitimate trade or to bring the conflicts to a halt.

The Göteborg European Council of June 2001 endorsed a programme for the prevention of violent conflicts, which states, inter alia, that the Member States and the Commission will tackle the illicit trade in high-value commodities, including by identifying ways of breaking the link between rough diamonds and violent conflicts and supporting the Kimberley Process.

Council Regulation (EC) No 303/2002 of 18 February 2002 concerning the importation into the Community of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone1 prohibits, under certain conditions, the importation of rough diamonds into the Community.

There is a need to complement the existing measures with effective controls over the international trade in rough diamonds in order to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds from financing the efforts of rebel movements and their allies to undermine legitimate governments. Effective control will help maintain international peace and security and will also protect the revenue from exports of rough diamonds, which is essential for the development of producer countries in Africa.

The Kimberley Process negotiations, bringing together the Community and producer and trading countries representing practically all international trade in rough diamonds, as well as the diamond industry and representatives of civil society, were initiated with a view to developing such an effective control system. They led to the development of a certification scheme.

All participants accepted the outcome of the negotiations as the basis for implementing measures within their own jurisdiction.

In its resolution 56/263 the UN General Assembly welcomed the certification scheme developed in the Kimberley Process and called on all interested parties to participate in that scheme.

Implementation of the certification scheme requires that the imports and exports of rough diamonds into or from the territory of the Community be made subject to the certification scheme, including the issue of the relevant certificates by participants in the scheme.

Each Member State may designate the authority or authorities responsible for the implementation of the relevant provisions of this Regulation within its territory and may limit the number of authorities.

The validity of certificates for imported rough diamonds should be properly verified by the competent authorities of the Community.

Compliance with this Regulation should not be construed as equivalent or as an alternative to compliance with any other requirements under Community legislation.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the certification scheme, circumvention or attempts to circumvent should be prevented. Likewise, providers of ancillary or directly related services should exercise due diligence in establishing that the provisions of this Regulation are duly applied.

Export certificates for rough diamonds should only be issued and validated where there is conclusive evidence that those diamonds have been imported under a certificate.

Circumstances may justify that the competent authority of the importing participant should send the competent authority of the exporting participant confirmation of import of shipments of rough diamonds.

A system of warranties and industry self-regulation of the kind proposed by the representatives of the rough diamond industry in the Kimberley Process could facilitate the provision of such conclusive evidence.

Provisions should be made to allow the export of rough diamonds imported before the applicability of specific import controls provided for by this Regulation.

Each Member State should determine the sanctions applicable in the event of a breach of this Regulation.

The provisions of this Regulation concerning the import and export of rough diamonds should not apply to rough diamonds transiting the Community in the course of export to another Participant.

For the purposes of implementing the certification scheme, the Community should be a participant in the Kimberley Process certification scheme. It should be represented by the Commission at meetings of participants in the Kimberley Process certification scheme.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission2.

A forum should be created to enable the Commission and the Member States to examine questions concerning the application of this Regulation.

This Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication, but the provisions on import and export control should be suspended until a date has been agreed in the Kimberley Process for the simultaneous implementation of the import and export controls by all participants,