New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Manchester Attacker?s Father Praised October 7th Hamas Terrorists Fri Oct 03, 2025 15:53 | Will Jones
The father of the?Manchester synagogue attacker?praised the October 7th Hamas terrorists as "Allah?s men on earth". Perhaps there was a reason he named his son 'Jihad'.
The post Manchester Attacker’s Father Praised October 7th Hamas Terrorists appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link BrewDog Sells ?Net Zero? Forest Amid Mounting Losses Fri Oct 03, 2025 13:44 | Will Jones
Brewdog has sold an ?8.8 million Scottish forest it?acquired just five years ago as part of its Net Zero drive?after mounting losses forced it to cut spending.
The post BrewDog Sells ‘Net Zero’ Forest Amid Mounting Losses appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Sarah Mullally Appointed as First Female Archbishop of Canterbury Fri Oct 03, 2025 11:24 | Will Jones
Dame Sarah Mullally has been announced as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, with conservative Anglicans condemning the liberal bishop's appointment as "committing live action, slow-mo (but not that slow) suicide".
The post Sarah Mullally Appointed as First Female Archbishop of Canterbury appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Kemi?s Pledge to Repeal the Climate Change Act Must Be Just the Start Fri Oct 03, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
Kemi Badenoch's pledge to repeal the Climate Change Act ? which commits the UK to Net Zero ? must be just the start of the dismantling of the Westminster Uniparty consensus on climate catastrophism, says Ben Pile.
The post Kemi’s Pledge to Repeal the Climate Change Act Must Be Just the Start appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Sceptic | Episode 53: Starmer?s Bizarre Bid to Brand Reform Racist, the Real Danger Posed by Lab... Fri Oct 03, 2025 07:00 | Richard Eldred
In Episode 53 of the Sceptic: Tom Jones on Keir Starmer's bizarre bid to brand Reform racist, Andrew Orlowski on the real danger posed by Labour's digital ID and Kathryn Porter on the colossal cost of Net Zero.
The post The Sceptic | Episode 53: Starmer?s Bizarre Bid to Brand Reform Racist, the Real Danger Posed by Labour?s Digital ID and the True Cost of Net Zero appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Irishman harassed at Tel Aviv diamond conference protest

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release author Thursday June 24, 2010 10:44author by Kev - IPSCauthor email info at ipsc dot ie Report this post to the editors

IPSC calls for urgent review of the Kimberly Diamond Process

On Wednesday 23rd June, Irishman Tommy Donnellan took part in a protest outside the meeting of Kimberley Process Conference in the Hotel Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv. The conference is meeting to discuss the global trade in “conflict” or “blood diamonds”, and the protest was organised to highlight the double standard in the Kimberly Process which bans the trade in rough diamonds that fund human rights abuses but facilitates the far more lucrative trade in cut and polished diamonds that also fund such abuses – including Israel’s occupation of Palestine. During the protest, Mr Donnellan was questioned by Israeli police and had his passport and phone numbers taken down.
Tommy in Tel Aviv
Tommy in Tel Aviv

The focus of the meeting was diamond exports from Zimbabwe where government forces are accused of committing human rights abuses. Zimbabwe’s membership of the Kimberly Process exposes serious flaws in the system that the industry wants consumers to believe has ended the trade in conflict diamonds.

The danger for the industry is the spotlight which the Zimbabwe issue focuses on the double-standard the Kimberly Process introduced to the diamond supply chain. Kimberly Process regulations stipulate that only rough diamonds used by rebel movements can be classed as conflict diamonds. As Zimbabwe’s diamonds are controlled by government forces they can not be classed as conflict diamonds under the Kimberly Process. Therefore, Zimbabwe remains in compliance with the Kimberly Process even though its diamonds are widely believed to be funding human rights abuses.

Speaking from Tel Aviv Mr. Donnellan said: “Israel, like Zimbabwe, is a state that stands accused of gross human rights violations. Israel is the world’s leading diamond exporter with exports valued at $20 billion in 2008. However as Israel’s diamonds are cut and polished they slip under the radar of the Kimberly Process scheme. Revenue from the Israeli diamond industry funds that state’s war crimes and human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, yet the focus of this week’s Kimberly Process meeting is on Zimbabwe’s diamond exports which are more than 1,200 times less than Israeli exports.”

Mr. Donnellan continued: “The Kimberly Process is a charade, it shelters the Israeli diamond industry from public scrutiny while focusing global attention on the much smaller producers in Africa. The issue of Israel’s diamond exports is the elephant in the room that no one dares mention, but we are here to ensure the issue of Israeli blood diamond exports is exposed.”

The EU is a member of the Kimberly Process and in recent weeks Irish MEPs have been lobbied by constituents who want an urgent review of the Kimberly Process so all diamonds that fund human rights are banned.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign calls on Irish jewellers to do the following:

· Desist from telling customers that all diamonds now “conflict free” when 50% of gem quality diamonds are crafted in Israel, one of the worlds bloodiest conflict zones.

· Support the call for an urgent review of the Kimberly Process so that all diamonds that fund human rights abuses are banned, not just rough diamond that fund such abuses.

· Call on the diamond industry to hallmark all diamonds so consumers have the right to know where each diamond was crafted and the right to choose a genuinely conflict free diamond

· Provide laser-inscribed diamonds manufactured in countries that respect human rights and international law and refuse to sell diamonds crafted in Israel until it complies fully with its obligations under international law


ENDS

Related Link: http://ipsc.ie/campaigns_diamond_boycott.php
author by Kev - IPSCpublication date Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:33author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Youtube video from outside the conference. Fair play to the bauld TD! Some man for one man... and then some!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l812WrnWbyQ

Related Link: http://ipsc.ie/campaigns_diamond_boycott.php
 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy