Ghana has urged members of the Kimberley Process to embrace consensus-driven reforms that reflect the evolving dynamics of the global diamond trade, warning that continued delays risk undermining the credibility and humanitarian purpose of the certification scheme.

Delivering Ghana’s statement at the Kimberley Process Ministerial Meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on November 20, 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, said the Process stands at a crossroads, more than twenty years after its establishment as a global mechanism to prevent diamonds from fuelling conflict.

"For over two decades, the Kimberly Process has been a historic achievement — a collective effort to ensure that diamonds, do not become instruments of conflict, wars and human suffering."

He noted that while traditional armed conflicts have declined, mining communities around the world continue to endure “the violence of exploitation, dispossession and exclusion,” even in the absence of gunfire.

"The nature of conflict has evolved. Conflict is no longer confined to rebel armies in the bush. Today, diamond communities may not hear gunfire, but they feel the violence of exploitation, dispossession and exclusion," he said at the meeting.

These evolving challenges, he said, demand a modernised definition of “conflict diamonds” and a renewed commitment to protecting vulnerable populations.

The CEO cautioned that reforms have stalled at a time when the diamond trade is “fast-shifting” and the moral burden of inaction continues to rise.

Many communities, he said, still live with the painful legacy of conflict and exploitation, an outcome that must not be allowed to define the Kimberley Process.

"Sadly, necessary reforms in the diamond trade have stalled. While we debate, the world changes. The landscape of the diamond trade is fast-shifting, and the moral cost of inaction continues to rise. Many diamond communities still live with the scars of conflict, exploitation, and exclusion. This cannot be the legacy of the Kimberley Process."

Reaffirming Ghana’s support for ongoing proposals to update the conflict-diamond definition, he stressed the need for participants to prioritise areas of convergence and avoid allowing the pursuit of perfection to impede urgent progress.

“Consensus is at the heart of the Kimberley Process,” he said, “but it must be a pathway to progress rather than a recipe for paralysis.”

Mr Gyamfi called on delegates to choose cooperation over narrow interests and take incremental yet meaningful steps to strengthen the scheme’s relevance and moral authority.

Ghana, he said, stands ready to work with all stakeholders to advance reforms that safeguard legitimate trade while protecting the communities whose lives are most affected by the diamond industry.