Ramat Gan, Israel, June 17, 2010: As Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) for 2010, Israel will hold the annual Intersessional Meeting from June 21 - 23, 2010 in Tel Aviv.

Boaz Hirsch is Chairman of the Kimberley Process on behalf of Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. The Intersessional Meeting is being held in preparation for the Plenary Meeting, to be held November 1 – 4, 2010 in Jerusalem.

On the agenda of the Intersessional Meeting is the progress of the Joint Work Plan (JWP), agreed upon at the last Plenary Meeting in Swakopmund, Namibia in November 2009, for implementation of the KP minimum standards in the Marange area of Zimbabwe. A report by the special KP monitor to the Marange area, Mr. Abbey Chikane, founder Chair of the KP, is scheduled to be delivered during the meeting.

Israel is promoting additional topics aimed at consolidating and fortifying the efficiency of the KP. Led by Mr. Hirsch, the KP approached the World Customs Organization (WCO) in order to revive the cooperation between the two organizations in issues of enforcement. In a meeting between the KP Chair the Secretary General of the WCO, a joint team was established to draft a multi-annual work plan for collaboration between the two international bodies. A report on the progress of the joint team is scheduled to be presented at the Intersessional Meeting. In addition, a seminar on enforcement of border control will be held adjacent to the meeting. The seminar, an initiative of the USA, Canada and the Civil Society representatives, will be attended by customs representatives from various countries.

On Israel's agenda are also topics of more procedural and administrative natures. Among them, is the promotion of a professional team that will provide administrative support to the rotating position of Chair and will sustain the changes, which are inherent in the annual transfer of this role from country to country.

Reports from the Intersessional Meeting will be available daily during the meeting on the IDI portal site http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/english/index.aspx

About the Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established in 2003 as a forum of countries that produce and trade in rough diamonds, in order to provide a credible global system to supervise this trade. The mandate of the process, as defined by the U.N. Security Council, is to prevent the trade in rough diamonds originating in areas that are controlled by resistence groups, and to prevent the profits from the sale of these diamonds to support the activity of resistence groups, the trade in weapons, the overthrow of legitimate governments and activity that violates the human rights of citizens in countries which produce rough diamonds. During the past 7 years the Kimberley Process succeeded in reducing the trade in conflict diamonds to about 1% of all rough diamonds traded.

The KPCS currently includes 75 countries. In addition to governments, it brings together representatives of the global diamond industry, through the World Diamond Council, and human rights NGO’s.