An observers’ forum, held alongside the World Diamond Council and Kimberley Process (KP) intersessional meeting, saw its members, along with the African Diamond Producers Association, the Civil Society Coalition and the Diamond Development Initiative achieve consensus on proposals to strengthen KP internal controls, aimed at establishing a policy on conflict of interest and create a KP permanent secretariat. “This week, we talked about the fundamentals of our future as we enter the three-year cycle of KP Certification Scheme review; a process that is vitally important as it will determine not only the future of the KP, but also the future of the entire diamond industry for years to come,” said WDC president Andrey Polyakov. He added that, to elevate the KP to the “next level of effectiveness”, industry needed to look beyond administrative issues and ensure that responsibility and expertise go hand-in-hand in the coming years.