Zimbabwe feels it is fully compliant with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and has done more to meet KP requirements than other countries, Zimbabwe's Mines and Mining Development Secretary Thankful Musukutwa told a Norwegian delegation visiting his country this week to study issues of human rights and development in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Herald reports that after the Norwegian group, led by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ingrid Fiskaa, asked Musukutwa about diamonds from Zimbabwe's contentious Marange diamond fields, Musukutwa said that Zimbabwe was resolved to sell its diamonds and would not be stopped by any NGO or "hostile nations."

Echoing statements by Mines Minister Obert Mpofu that the KP is politicized and singling out Zimbabwe for embargo, Musukutwa said that the KP should stick to its mandate. "Why should any non-governmental organization… stop us?" he asked.

"We know we are not trading in conflict diamonds," he stated.

Diamond exports from Zimbabwe's Marange and Chiadzwa fields remain under international embargo due to continued reports of human rights abuses perpetrated by state security forces patrolling the sites. While the government insists that the problem has been addressed, both locals and representatives of NGOs – such as the Zimbabwe Advocacy Office – say that abuses continue.

The Norwegian delegation asked Musukutwa about the alleged human rights abuses at Chiadzwa, and Musukutwa expressed surprise that foreigners would tell the Zimbabwean government that human rights were being violated there, and assured them that the government maintained a constant presence in the diamond fields.