Sammy Gyamfi Urges Kimberly Process Reforms to Safeguard Diamond Communities
Gyamfi stresses urgent reforms to protect communities from exploitation in the diamond trade
- Sammy Gyamfi calls for urgent reforms to the Kimberly Process to protect diamond communities.
- Conflicts in diamond regions have shifted from warfare to exploitation, dispossession, and exclusion.
- Gyamfi urges stakeholders to act decisively and find common ground on defining “conflict diamonds.”
The CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has called for urgent reforms to the Kimberly Process, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by diamond-producing communities.
The Kimberly Process, established in 2003, is an international certification system designed to prevent conflict diamonds—rough diamonds that finance wars—from entering the global market.
Speaking at the Kimberly Process Ministerial Meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on November 20, 2025, Gyamfi praised the initiative’s historic achievements but stressed that it must evolve to address new forms of conflict in diamond regions.
“For more than two decades, the Kimberly Process has helped ensure that diamonds do not fuel wars and human suffering,” he said.
However, Gyamfi noted that conflicts in diamond communities have shifted from traditional warfare to subtler forms of harm, including exploitation, dispossession, and exclusion.
“Reforms in the diamond trade have stalled. While discussions continue, the world changes. Communities continue to bear the scars of exploitation and exclusion, and the moral cost of inaction keeps rising. This cannot remain the legacy of the Kimberly Process,” he added.
He urged all stakeholders to prioritize action, recognizing the legitimacy of differing views on what constitutes a “conflict diamond.”
“What matters now is our collective commitment to find common ground and implement reforms decisively,” Gyamfi concluded, calling for immediate steps to protect vulnerable diamond communities.
