One company, partially owned by the Putin regime, is responsible for mining 27% of the world's diamonds
as an explanation for their opposition to oil and gas embargoes . Although she disagrees with that argument, van Brempt notes that there’s a certain impact of an oil and gas ban that does not apply to luxury goods. “Energy at least affects everyone: consumers, family, industry,” she says. “But diamonds?”
Hans Merket, a researcher at the International Peace Information Service in Antwerp, acknowledges that Belgium does a better job than other hubs of ensuring ethical diamond production. “It’s true that the controls in Antwerp are unrivaled, and that there’s no other trading center that has this level of control,” he says.
Instead, he says, Belgium should again assume the leadership role and not only propose E.U. sanctions, but, together with the U.S., persuade other countries to also cease trading Russian diamonds. “There are only four big players today,” he says. “And two of them, the E.U. and the U.S., could coordinate and put pressure on the other two, India and the UAE. Belgian politicians and the sector say they only want sanctions if they’re internationally coordinated.
That’s why even companies like Tiffany’s or Pandora, which have said they will stop buying Russian rough diamonds, cannot assure customers that the gems weren’t mined there. Two laOne trade organization in the US, Jewelers of America, has urged its 8,000 members to go beyond current sanctions until sovereignty is restored to Ukraine.
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