Wikipedia's first sentence called it “scheme designed to prevent conflict diamonds”. Today it says “process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is a scheme designed to prevent conflict diamonds (also known as blood diamonds) entering the mainstream rough diamond market. The scheme was set up to try to assure consumers that by purchasing diamonds they were not financing war and human rights abuses. 98% of the world's trade in rough diamonds takes place in and between countries taking part in the scheme. The scheme originated from a meeting of South African diamond producing states in Kimberley in May 2000. In December of 2000 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution calling for the creation of a scheme that would allow certification of diamonds that had not been sold in order to finance civil war. The KPCS was finally agreed upon by nations involved in the trade of diamond and diamond-mining and production companies, notably De Beers and the World Diamond Council , in November 2002. In order for a country to be able to participant in the scheme, it must ensure that any diamond originating from the country does not finance a rebel group or other entity seeking to overthrow a UN-recognized government. that every diamond export be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate proving (1). that no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member of the scheme. This three-step plans is a simple description of the steps taken to ensure a "chain" of countries that deal exclusively with non-conflict diamonds. Details of the scheme can be found in the official KPCS document linked in the external links section below. The scheme is essentially self-enforced. Supervision of the Process is done by the Chair, elected on an annual basis at a plenary meeting. A Working Group on Monitoring monitors each participant to ensure that it is implementing the scheme correctly. The Working Group reports to the Chair. Other working groups include the Technical Working Group (or Working Group of Diamond Experts) which reports on difficulties in implementing the scheme and proposed solutions, and the Statistics Working Group, which reports diamond trading data. The Participation Committee reports to the Chair on its recommendations on proposed members hoping to join the scheme. The Selection Committee reports on its recommendations on who should be the next Vice-Chair. After a year of being Vice-Chair, the successful candidate becomes the Chair. In July 2001, Congo was removed from the scheme because it was found unable to prove the origin of its gems. Whilst the Process has been broadly welcomed by groups aiming to improve human rights in countries previously affected by conflict diamonds, such as Angola , some say the scheme does not go far enough. But until the diamond trade is subject to mandatory, impartial monitoring, there is still no effective guarantee that all conflict diamonds will be identified and removed from the market." Canadian aid group One Sky (funded in part by the Canadian government) concurs with Amnesty's view saying "If effectively implemented, the Kimberley Process will ensure that diamonds cannot be used to finance war and atrocities [..] However, without a system of expert, independent and periodic reviews of all countries, the overall process remains open to abuse." An example of abuse would be smuggling conflict diamonds into a certified facility or country. Since by some estimates up to 30% of the rough output of some diamond mines is smuggled out illegally, detecting such abuse is a formidable challenge.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16686290.
The opening as it stood in 2010 20 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme , popularly known as KPCS, is a process introduced by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report .It is designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict fueled by diamond production.The process was established in 2003 to prevent diamond sales from financing rebellious movements.The certification scheme aims at preventing these " blood diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. It was set up to assure consumers that by purchasing diamonds they were not financing war and human rights abuses.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370326653.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Members of the Kimberley Process Participants in the Kimberley Process Official applicants to the Kimberley Process The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report .The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments." The effectiveness of the process has been brought into question by organizations such as Global Witness , which pulled out of the scheme on 5 December 2011, claiming it has failed in its purpose and does not provide markets with assurance that the diamonds are not conflict diamonds ."Why we are leaving the Kimberley Process - A message from Global Witness Founding Director Charmian Gooch" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666913048.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Countries who are participants and official applicants Participant ongoing conflict Official applicants ongoing conflict Ongoing conflicts in Africa The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme ( KPCS ) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report . The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments." The effectiveness of the process has been brought into question by organizations such as Global Witness (pulled out of the scheme on 5 December 2011) and IMPACT (pulled out on 14 December 2017), claiming it has failed in its purpose and does not provide markets with assurance that the diamonds are not conflict diamonds . Organisations such as Human Rights Watch have also argued that the Kimberley Process is too narrow in scope and does not adequately serve to eliminate other human rights concerns from the diamond production chain. "Why we are leaving the Kimberley Process - A message from Global Witness Founding Director Charmian Gooch" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 955361372.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
To certify the origin of rough diamonds Countries who are participants and official applicants Participant ongoing conflict Official applicants ongoing conflict Ongoing conflicts in Africa The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme ( KPCS ) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report . The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments". The effectiveness of the process has been brought into question by organizations such as Global Witness (pulled out of the scheme on 5 December 2011) and IMPACT (pulled out on 14 December 2017), claiming it has failed in its purpose and does not provide markets with assurance that the diamonds are not conflict diamonds . Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have also argued that the Kimberley Process is too narrow in scope and does not adequately serve to eliminate other human rights concerns from the diamond production chain. "Why we are leaving the Kimberley Process – A message from Global Witness Founding Director Charmian Gooch" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1162032088.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Process to certify the origin of rough diamonds Countries who are participants and official applicants Participant ongoing conflict Official applicants ongoing conflict Ongoing conflicts in Africa The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme ( KPCS ) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report . The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments". The effectiveness of the process has been brought into question by organizations such as Global Witness (pulled out of the scheme on 5 December 2011) and IMPACT (pulled out on 14 December 2017), claiming it has failed in its purpose and does not provide markets with assurance that the diamonds are not conflict diamonds . Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have also argued that the Kimberley Process is too narrow in scope and does not adequately serve to eliminate other human rights concerns from the diamond production chain. In 2022, members debated whether Russian diamonds were conflict diamonds.Administration and funding of the KPCS has been an ongoing question.Until 2011, there was no formal funding mechanism for KPCS administrative expenses, with some expenses borne by member countries and others borne by the country holding the chair position in a given year.In 2011, the KPCS Administrative Support Mechanism was approved to handle administrative tasks, supported by four industry organizations.In 2022, members voted to make Botswana the host of the Permanent Secretariat for KPCS, with costs shared by Botswana, as well as the World Diamond Council and KPCS member countries. "Why we are leaving the Kimberley Process – A message from Global Witness Founding Director Charmian Gooch" .
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “scheme designed to prevent conflict diamonds”. Today it says “process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
scheme designed to prevent conflict diamonds
Now
process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds " from entering the mainstream rough diamond market
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
