Nations and international organizations that oppose Kimberley Process certification for Zimbabwe's diamonds are treating Zimbabwe "unfairly," Deputy Mines and Mining Development Minister Gift Chimanikire said recently.



Chimanikire, like Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu, argued that Zimbabwe had fully complied with KP demands and should be allowed to export its diamonds.



Chimanikire came after the European Union issued a call for an urgent meeting of the KP Working Group on Monitoring to address KP Chairman Mahieu Yamba's recent decision to greenlight Zimbabwe's diamond exports. The EU – along with the US, Canada, and Australia – claims that Yamba's decision was not taken in line with KP policy, which demands that all decisions be arrived at by consensus.



Chimanikire told NewsDay that he "challenged" the EU to prove that Zimbabwe wasn't complying with KP requirements and noted that the EU, none of whose nations are diamond producers, "is not the entire component of the KP."



According to the deputy minister, extending the embargo on Zimbabwe's diamonds would just hurt ordinary Zimbabweans, as such a decision would open the door for illegal diamond trading and lack of transparency.