Blood Diamonds: Their past and present

As depicted in Edward Zwick's film "Blood Diamond", diamonds that are mined in war zones and which are sold to finance arms trade and violent conflict have come to be known as 'conflict diamonds' or blood diamonds. The history of blood diamonds involves a number of African countries such as Liberia, Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the issue really began to receive mass media coverage during the civil war in Sierra Leone, which is the basis of the 2006 film. This brutal civil war that took place in the 1990's was waged by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in order to gain control of the diamond fields in Sierra Leone. Global Witness, an international NGO that works to expose corrupt exploitation of natural resources and international trade systems, was one of the first organizations to uncover the link between international diamond trade and conflicts in Africa. They helped to bring blood diamonds to the world's attention, and were a catalyst in the formation of international protocol.

In 2000 a meeting was held in Kimberley, South Africa by the South African diamond producing states and various representatives of the diamond industry, to discuss and plan a method for halting the trade of conflict diamonds; In 2003 The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established. The KPCS is a joint government certification procedure that is designed to certify the origins of rough diamonds to ensure the export of only safe, conflict-free diamonds that have not contributed to the use of violence, human rights abuses, child labor, or environmental destruction. The Kimberley Process requires member governments to keep strict records of all diamonds they import and export and requires that all members trade only with other participants and only when rough diamond shipments are accompanied by a certificate. As of 2009, there are 49 members of the Kimberley Process, representing 74 countries.

The Kimberly Process is generally credited with helping to curb the trade of conflict diamonds and with helping to bring down the estimated number of conflict diamonds represented in the international market from 15% in the 1990's to less than 1%. The Kimberly Process has also brought about the sale of large volumes of conflict-free diamonds that otherwise would not have made it to the legal international market. For example, in 2006 Sierra Leone benefited from the legal export of around $125 million worth of diamonds as compared to almost nothing in the end of the 1990's.

Global Witness has brought the issue of blood diamonds back to public attention with the recent release of a report entitled, Return of the Blood Diamond. The report reveals details of state-sponsored violence and of human rights abuses by Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF party in the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe. It discusses the "combination of abusive military operations and suspect deal-making [that] could have serious consequences for the peace and stability of Zimbabwe". Global Witness further criticizes the Kimberley Process for failing to take action to end the violence and corruption stating that, "by turning a blind eye ... the Kimberley Process appears to be legitimizing the situation in Marange."

About the Author

Cloie Zankman is a Kimberley Certification activist, helping raising awareness of the conflict diamond trade in Africa, its consequences, and how to avoid it. Most of her activism is through the internet, promoting fair diamond pricing on the net. Learn about the diamond market through more articles written by Cloie.