Venezuela voluntarily withdraws from the Kimberley Process

The inter-sessional meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme ended Thursday in New Delhi with Venezuela agreeing to withdraw from the KP for two years. KP Chairman Rahul Khullar announced that Venezuela will not export rough diamonds for the next two years, and that a KP team will visit Venezuela to assess the situation and prepare a report before the next plenary meeting in November. Meanwhile, India called for a crackdown on fake KP diamond certificates. Earlier this month several NGOs called for the expulsion of Venezuela from the Kimberley Process due to noncompliance and continued refusal to allow teams from KP member countries to inspect Venezuela's diamond industry. The county produces an estimated 150,000 carats of diamonds annually, but has reported no official exports after January 2005.