The Network for the Fight Against Hunger, RELUFA, has presented the second report of its independent monitoring of the Kimberley Process in Cameroon. This was on the 3rd of December 2021 during a press briefing at RELUFA’s office in Yaounde. The press briefing was organised as part of the Independent Monitoring of the Kimberley Process with financial support from the Active Citizenship Support Programme, PROCIVIS. In his welcome address, the Coordinator of RELUFA, Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo, said for the past two years RELUFA has been doing the independent monitoring of the Kimberley Process in parts of the East and Adamawa regions that have borders with CAR and the network is interested in all processes linked to natural resource management.
Presenting the report, Christian Brice Anangue, the project manager of the Independent Surveillances of the Kimberley Process project, SIPROKIM, said the independent monitoring is aimed at getting public decision-makers to take decisions with a view to reducing the smuggling of rough diamonds and the flight of capital in Cameroon. He said it also has as objectives to ensure that a sustainable Kimberley Process is structured in the East and Adamawa regions, more information on the source of rough diamonds is publicly available and debates on the implementation of the Kimberley Process at the national and international level are initiated and enriched.
Following the presentation of the independent monitoring report of the Kimberley Process certification scheme in Cameroon, journalists raised questions about the organization of the diamond sector in Cameroon and the registry system on sites that are non-existent and question the reliability of statistical production data and the traceability of the diamond from its point of origin. The SIPROKIM project manager, however, disclosed that since the last report, there has been some marked improvement on the field.
The report recommends the carrying out of activities aimed at facilitating and encouraging the registration of the various actors (artisans and collectors) and the notice of authorisations, revision of the law to allow other nationals to carry out artisanal mining activities, equipping artisanal miners both in terms of knowledge and materials. It also called for the provision of supervisory staff with adequate means to ensure regular visits, sensitisation of artisans on environmental challenges and their impact, as well as on the importance of education and strengthening the capacities of officers responsible for border and airport surveillance, including law enforcement and customs officers.
