Internet diamond trading poses a number of problems for the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in member nations, according to a report by the KP Working Group on Monitoring delivered at Monday's opening session of the Kimberley Process plenary session in Jerusalem.



Working Group Chair Stephane Chardon presented the report, which noted that a number of parcels of diamonds sold via the Internet were small, of relatively low value, and could make it through customs undeclared or with murky labeling. Chardon said that for the year ending December 31, 2009, seven incidences of falsified reports had been identified.



Some parcels, the report said, contain KP certificates that are not returned to customs authorities, as policy dictates. Among other issues, this causes a discrepancy in KP statistics.



The report cited ignorance on the part of diamond buyers and sellers as one major reason why KP certification is sometimes glossed over in Internet sales.



The working group suggested that further research into cross-border Internet diamond sales was necessary.



Chardon also detailed the working group's activities for the year, saying that meetings had been held approximately once a month. According to Chardon, 73 participants had submitted the required annual KP compliance reports – Lebanon and Venezuela being the exceptions