At the annual general meeting of the World Diamond Council in Moscow last week, Schnitzer led the opposition to moves that would have harmed the IDE and other global diamond trading centers.
IDE President Shmuel Schnitzer took part in the annual general meeting of the World Diamond Council (WDC) in Moscow last week and prevented an attempt to change the definition of the Kimberley Process (KP) that would have affected the IDE and other diamond trading centers around the world.
During discussions at the meeting, a draft of the strategic plan of the WDC was placed on the table. The paper included a widening of the definition of the conflict diamond issue to include countries who flout human rights laws not just in mining areas but also in diamond trading centers. The proposal was aimed at the time at dealing with human rights violations in Zimbabwe.
Although the WDC institutions confirmed the change in definition at the time, it could be disastrous to trading centers, and especially to Israel.
Israel Diamond Exchange President, Shmuel Schnitzer, prevented changes in the definition, sought to remove major trading centers from the definition, and also received the support of representatives from Russia, India and other countries.
Schnitzer's proposals received a positive response from the WDC, and thus provided an important service for the Israeli diamond industry and other trading hubs.
The council agreed for the strategic plan to go back to the drawing board and a small panel was selected to submit a new plan to the full Council.
The World Diamond Council represents companies and organizations in the global diamond industry in the Kimberley Process, to prevent the use of rough stones as conflict diamonds.
The original mission of the Kimberley Process is the prevention of trade in rough diamonds produced in countries where there is a risk these diamonds will be used to finance terrorism and to finance rebel groups who violate human rights and the control activity is carried out in diamond-producing states.
