United Nations A/RES/56/263 General Assembly Fifty-sixth session Agenda item 37 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/56/L.72 and Add.1)] 56/263. The role of diamonds in fuelling conflict: breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts The General Assembly, Recognizing that the trade in conflict diamonds is a matter of serious international concern, which can be directly linked to the fuelling of armed conflict, the activities of rebel movements aimed at undermining or overthrowing legitimate Governments and the illicit traffic in and proliferation of armaments, especially small arms and light weapons, Recognizing also the devastating impact of conflicts fuelled by the trade in conflict diamonds on the peace, safety and security of people in affected countries, and the systematic and gross human rights violations that have been perpetrated in such conflicts, Noting the negative impact of such conflicts on regional stability and the obligations placed upon States by the Charter of the United Nations regarding the maintenance of international peace and security, Recognizing, therefore, that urgent action to curb the trade in conflict diamonds is imperative, Recognizing also the positive benefits of the legitimate diamond trade to producing countries, and underlining the need for urgent international action to prevent the problem of conflict diamonds from negatively affecting the trade in legitimate diamonds, which makes a critical contribution to the economies of many of the producing, exporting and importing States, especially developing States, Noting that the vast majority of rough diamonds produced in the world are from legitimate sources, Recalling all the Security Council resolutions related to conflict diamonds adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter, and determined to contribute to and support the implementation of the measures provided for in those resolutions, Recalling also its resolution 55/56 of 1 December 2000, in which it called upon the international community to develop detailed proposals for a simple and 01 49766 Distr.: General 9 April 2002