Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and war, and have fuelled devastating wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sierra Leone. Although several of these wars have ended, the problem of conflict diamonds remains, with diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire reaching the international diamond market. In 2003 an international certification scheme called the Kimberley Process was launched, making it illegal to trade in conflict diamonds.

Can the Council outline the progress of the Kimberley process within the EU so far, any relevant Presidency aims, and what measures it has taken to ensure there is adequate financial support to allow the Kimberley process to continue its work in responsible diamond trading?