CIBJO Praises U.S. 9/11 Report

CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, has welcomed the report of the official commission into the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States that found no evidence to suggest a connection between the trade in conflict diamonds and the al Qaeda terror network.

Commenting on al Qaeda and conflict diamonds, the 9/11 commission said: “Al Qaeda has been alleged to have used a variety of illegitimate means, particularly drug trafficking and conflict diamonds, to finance itself.

“While the drug trade was a source of income for the Taliban (who formerly controlled Afghanistan) it did not serve the same purpose for al Qaeda, and there is no reliable evidence that Bin Ladin was involved in or made his money through drug trafficking. Similarly, we have seen no persuasive evidence that al Qaeda funded itself by trading in African conflict diamonds.”

CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri said he was pleased with the report, saying it gave the diamond industry a clean bill of health.

“Given the fact that there have been a number of news reports in the media suggesting that al Qaeda was using conflict diamonds to finance its activities and to launder money, such a declaration by a body that has spent months studying such issues is very welcome indeed,” he said.

Cavalieri is a member of the executive board of the World Diamond Council, which is charged with managing the international jewellery and gemstone sector’s campaign against conflict diamonds. “These charges besmirched the reputation of the products we sell. The commission’s report has, I believe, vindicated the diamond [trade] in this respect,” he said.