20091212

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States, the EU and other Western powers blasted the U.N. General Assembly on Friday for ignoring Zimbabwe's reported failure to comply with international efforts to curb trade in "blood diamonds."

The 192-nation body adopted a resolution warning that "trade in conflict diamonds continues to be a matter of serious international concern" and increased vigilance was vital.

The assembly was responding to a report on conflict stones by Namibia, which chairs the diamond industry's Kimberley Process, a certification scheme set up in 2003 in the wake of devastating civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Those wars were largely financed by the diamond trade.

Although the resolution was adopted, a number of Western delegations criticized the assembly for failing to mention concerns about Zimbabwe, which is suspected of not complying with Kimberley Process safeguards.

Namibia's report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there were "credible indications of significant non-compliance with the minimum requirements of the (Kimberley Process) by Zimbabwe."

U.S. delegate Laura Ross said: "We regret that language reflecting this concern has not been included in the text of this resolution."

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Sweden's U.N. Ambassador Anders Liden voiced similar views, as did delegates from Japan, Australia and Canada.