Conflict Diamonds: Introduction

Conflict diamonds or “blood diamonds” were defined by the UN in December of 2000 as: "...diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council."(UN).

Conflict diamonds have been used by rebel groups to fuel brutal wars in Africa, more specifically the countries of Angola, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Cote d’Ivoire. Rebels sell these diamonds to international diamond dealers to purchase large quantities of small arms. According to Amnesty International: “These conflicts have resulted in over 4 million deaths and the displacement of mill ions of people” in Africa.” (AIGW Fact sheet).

Not only do the diamonds fund destructive wars of the regions, but the actual mining process itself is detrimental to the miners’ well-being and keeps them below poverty lines. According to Amnesty International: “hundreds of thousands of men and children work in dirty, dangerous, and difficult conditions digging for diamonds, and they often earn less than a dollar a day. This is artisanal mining, carried out with simple picks, shovels and sieves.” (AI- The Truth about Diamonds).

As the international community became aware of the issue of conflict diamonds, the international diamond industry created the World Diamond Congress in July of 2000. The diamond industry along with NGOs, IGOs , and governments negotiated an international certification scheme “that that regulates trade in rough diamonds. It aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, while helping to protect legitimate trade in rough diamonds.” This certification scheme is also known as The Kimberely Process. (The Kimberely Process).

Even though the World Diamond Process is claiming that The Kimberly Process is 99% effective (Diamond Facts), Amnesty International has found proof that this fact is false and claims: “The Kimberley Process is increasingly being hailed as a success and the problem of blood diamonds is perceived to be solved by some. This is leading to complacency and a lack of political will to improve the scheme.” (AI: Kimberely Process).
In the coming weeks this blog will explore the issue of conflict diamonds even further, and will trace its emergence as a major human security issue onto the global agenda.