The Kimberley Process is a joint agreement between governments, companies, and civil society that keeps track of diamonds as they are imported and exported to ensure that none of the diamonds sold or purchased were involved in funding violent activities. In the past, diamonds were used to pay for rebels to commit acts of violence. In the year 2000, leaders and diamond companies sat down and formulated a process by which diamonds are certified so that their origins are known.
As of September 2007, the Kimberley Process has 48 representatives representing 74 countries and those countries who do not participate are not allowed to do business with the countries that do wish to turn their backs on the violence.
Roughly 80% of all rough diamonds are sold in Antwerp, Belgium, so, in turn, Europe has a strong tie to this process and must ensure that these guidelines are followed to the letter. Because of the volume of diamonds that go through their continent, Europe has quite a bit at stake if these guidelines are not followed. It is their moral and ethical responsibility to ensure that all of the rough diamonds that pass through their hands are legitimate.
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