 It was able to reduce the ease with which conflict diamonds entered the legitimate diamond market within its first few years of implementation.But, membership in the system is voluntary, so non-compliance is a constant issue.The Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, and Venezuela were all accused of violations and expelled from the scheme in the mid 2000s; since then, Congo has been reinstated as a full participant, but Côte d'Ivoire and Venezuela were demoted to members.