Since May 2013 the Central African Republic has been suspended from the Kimberly Process (KP) \u2013 a measure maintained by the mechanism\u2019s annual plenary in Guangzhou, China, this November. The CAR\u2019s transitional authorities have been seeking at least a partial lifting of this export ban so that the country might benefit from the much needed revenues its diamonds can generate.1 However, the authorities in this beleaguered state have thus far failed to secure control over both the security situation and the country\u2019s diamond trade: a recent UN expert report estimates that the CAR has lost US$24 million worth of diamonds to smuggling since May 2013.2 Indeed, IPIS\u2019 own investigations \u2013 the findings of which are outlined in a report released end November 2014 \u2013 have found that large tracts of diamond producing areas in eastern CAR remain under ex-Seleka control, with stones continuing to access international markets.<\/p>\n
This IPIS Insight will elaborate on IPIS\u2019 findings in its recent report, Mapping Conflict Motives: the Central African Republic \u2013 the latest in our conflict mapping series. It gives some insight into the modes of exploitation used by armed groups in the CAR to profit from diamonds and the role these stones have played in the complex and shifting dynamics that characterise the on-going crisis, both in the east and west of the country. It will then briefly consider the KP\u2019s role in this context.<\/p>\n