VOA标准英语2009年-Zimbabwe Diamond Trade Under Spotlight

By Peta Thornycroft
Southern Africa
03 November 2009

 
Raw diamonds (file photo)
The so-called Kimberley Process, a joint¹ international government, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, will decide at its annual meeting in Namibia this week whether to suspend Zimbabwe from its certification plan.

The deliberations on Zimbabwe result from a visit to the country earlier this year by a delegation² from the Kimberley Process. They heard testimony³ from witnesses accused by the government of illegal mining, that they had been abused by members of President Robert Mugabe's security forces.

Several informal miners at the diamond fields said the Zimbabwe army used helicopter gunships in an operation to take control of the Chiadzwa diamond field in the Marange district of eastern Manicaland last year. They said that many poverty stricken people digging for diamonds were shot and wounded and that an unknown number were killed. Others said they had been beaten and chased away by security forces.

The Harare High Court ruled last month that the Chiadswz diamond fields have belonged to a British company, African Consolidated⁴ Resources since late 2006. The Zimbabwe mining ministry⁵ has ignored the court ruling and ZANU-PF Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said the army and police continue to control the diamond fields because the area is a "security zone".

Canadian Ian Smillie was one of the architects of the Kimberley Process set up seven years ago to try to end trade in conflict diamonds. He resigned earlier this year because he said he said the organization had failed to act against Zimbabwe over what he and some non-governmental organizations say are many gross human-rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

He tells VOA, that like 79 other countries, Zimbabwe has legally adopted the provisions of the Kimberley Process, and the organization has the powers to ensure that governments abide⁶ by their commitments, which aim to ensure that diamonds are produced without violating human rights. Smilie says this is not happening.

"The problem is that the Kimberley process has not been enforcing its minimum standards, so you have all kinds of holes in the boat, so diamonds are leaking out in a whole variety of ways. What has to happen is the Kimberley Process and individual governments have to enforce the laws they have passed," he said.

Smillie says the final report to be presented to the organization's annual meeting this week in Namibia has been "watered down" from that prepared originally by the delegation that visited Zimbabwe. He said that consequently the Kimberley Process has betrayed its mandate⁷ for Zimbabwe.

"It demonstrates that the Kimberley Process is not willing to get tough with Zimbabwe, a country that does not meet minimum standards, where there have been all kinds of human-rights abuse and a number of other problems," he said.

And Smillie says the implications are much greater. "It sends a signal to other countries that basically they too do not have to observe minimum standards. They do not have to worry about smuggling⁸, they do not have to worry about the rule of law, they do not have to worry about human rights. So then, would we even bother having a Kimberly Process if it will not get to grips with the most egregious⁹ examples?," he said.

The head of the Global Witness Conflict Resources Team researching and monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe, Mike Davis, said earlier this year Zimbabwe should be suspended from the world body. "We have been calling for several months now for the Kimberley Process to take action and to suspend Zimbabwe from participating until it can demonstrate there are no human-rights abuses in the manner in which those diamonds are being extracted and traded," he said.

Smillie said if Zimbabwe were suspended this would be good for the diamond industry internationally and would show that the organization is willing to deal with issues of human rights and the rule of law. "I think because nobody could imagine at the beginning of this thing that human rights were going to become a problem in the diamonds fields of the countries that are members. But it is an issue and I think this is the beginning of a more mature Kimberley Process that can deal with some of the fundamental issues that consumers are concerned about," he said.

Mines Minister Mpofu told the ZANU-PF controlled state press last month he had found new foreign partners to work with his officials in a joint venture to develop production from the diamond fields.

The Kimberly Process annual meeting ends Thursday.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。