The Kimberley Process (KP) needs to consider how it can strengthen digital communication in its work, while addressing emerging risks such as financial integrity, and develop robust traceability standards that add rigour to the certification system, to correspond with the three main framework components of confidence, compliance and credibility, says joint government, industry and civil society initiative KP 2026 chair Suchindra Misra.

Misra was appointed by the government of India to serve as the KP chair for this year and, in an interview published in industry association the World Diamond Council’s (WDC’s) newsletter, outlined the key imperative of making the KP Certification Scheme (KPCS) a stronger and more trusted certification system.

As the world’s largest cutting and polishing hub, India brings a perspective that connects diamond producers with consumer interests, he says, adding that the country’s intention is to advance “forward-looking” ideas such as strengthening confidence, compliance and credibility while ensuring that all discussions remain open, inclusive and rooted in the shared interests of governments, industry and civil society.

“Consumer expectations have risen, traceability has moved from aspiration to requirement and the reputational expectations placed on natural diamonds have never been greater. The KP must evolve to meet these realities, not at the expense of its core mandate, but in service of it,” Misra says.

He highlights that compliance with the KP is not merely a procedural formality, but an assurance given by member governments that a diamond has entered the legitimate supply chain free from any taint of conflict.

Further, he says that bridging the gap between certification and consumer confidence is a continuous process which has to be addressed through communication and increased visibility.

He adds that India’s chairing of the KP is prioritising the use of digital technologies to make the KP certificate more visible and more meaningful at the point of retail, across the supply chain and within the broader public narrative around natural diamonds.

Misra says it should be the KP’s priority to ensure this assurance is suitably conveyed at every point in the value chain, including at the moment a consumer makes a choice.

“The KP is relevant because it represents a genuine and hard-won achievement of international governance: a rules-based, multilateral framework that has demonstrably succeeded in separating conflict diamonds from the legitimate trade.

“Its tripartite architecture – uniting governments, industry and civil society within a single mechanism – remains a model that few multilateral initiatives can match. At the same time, we must recognise that the world in which the KP operates has changed,” he concludes.