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Blood diamond

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This article is about the subject of blood diamonds. For the 2006 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, see Blood Diamond (film).

A blood diamond (also called a conflict diamond or a war diamond) is a diamond mined in a war zone and sold, usually clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading army's war efforts. [1] [2]

Panning for diamonds in Sierra Leone.

History

The United Nations (UN) in 1998 placed Angola under sanctions forbidding countries from buying diamonds from them. [3] This resolution was the first resolution of the UN which specifically mentioned diamonds in the context of funding war. In 1999 the illicit diamond trade was estimated by the World Diamond Council to have made up 3.06% of the world's diamond production.[4][5] By 2004 this percentage had fallen to approximately 1%. according to the World Diamond Council.[5]. Other estimates by Partnership Africa Canada have reported conflict diamonds as much as 15% of total production in the 1990s, with as much as 20% being sold for illicit purposes.[6]

Angola

Angola was a former colony of Portugal, and gained independence in 1975. Although independent, the country saw civil war between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) faction, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) faction. During this war, diamonds were traded by rebel groups to fund their war.[7] The UN recognized the role that diamonds played in funding the UNITA rebels, and banned countries from buying diamonds from Angola.[3] Today Angola’s civil war has ended and the country is now an arguably legitimate part of the diamond trade. [7]

Sierra Leone

Blood Diamonds first came to the world's attention in the late 1990's, during the violent civil war in Sierra Leone. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels attempted to overthrow the government, and an illicit diamond trade was used to fund the war effort. As with Angola, the civil war has ended, and Sierra Leone is a legitimate part of the diamond trade.[7]

Liberia

From 1989 to 2003 Liberia was engaged in a civil war. In 2000, the UN accused Liberian president Charles G. Taylor of supporting the RUF insurgency in Sierra Leone with weapons and training for diamonds. In 2001 the UN applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August 2003 he stepped down as president, and after being exiled to Nigeria, now faces trial in the Hague. On July 21, 2006 he pleaded not guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes. [7]

Liberia today is at peace and is attempting to construct a legitimate diamond mining industry. However, UN sanctions have not yet been lifted. [7]

Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast began to develop a fledgling diamond mining industry in the 1990’s. A coup overthrew the government in 1999, starting a civil war. The country became a route for exporting diamonds from Liberia and war torn Sierra Leone.[7][8] Foreign investment began to withdraw from the Ivory Coast. To curtail the illicit trade, the nation stopped all diamond mining, and the UN Security Council banned all exports of diamonds from the Ivory Coast in December 2005.[7]

Republic of Congo

The Republic of Congo faced UN sanctions in 2004 because despite having no official diamond mining industry, the country was exporting large quantities of diamonds, the origin of which it could not detail.[7]

Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

Main article: Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

Although the United Nations first identified the conflict diamond issue in 1998 as a source of funding for war[3], it was the diamond industry that took steps to address the conflict diamond issue by convening a meeting to plan a process by which diamond origin could be certified. In May 2000, diamond producing countries of southern Africa met in Kimberley, South Africa to plan a method by which the trade in conflict diamonds could be halted, and buyers of diamonds could be assured that their diamonds have not contributed to violence.[9] [10]

On July 19, 2000, the World Diamond Congress adopted at Antwerp a resolution to strengthen the diamond industry's ability to block sales of conflict diamonds. [11] [12] The resolution called for an international certification system on the export and import of diamonds, legislation in all countries to accept only officially sealed packages of diamonds, for countries to impose criminal charges on anyone trafficking in conflict diamonds, and instituted a ban on any individual found trading in conflict diamonds from the diamond bourses of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.[12]

On January 17 - 18 of 2001, diamond industry figures convened and formed the new organization the World Diamond Council. This new body set out to draft a new process, whereby all diamond rough could be certified as coming from a non-conflict source. [13]

The KPCS was given approval by the UN on March 13, 2002,[14], and in November, after two years of negotiation between governments, diamond producers, and Non-Government organizations, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created.

U.S. policy

On January 18, 2001, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13194 which prohibited the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone into the United States in accordance with the UN resolutions.[15] President Bush on May 22, 2001 issued Executive Order 13213 which banned rough diamond importation from Liberia into the United States. Liberia had been recognized by the United Nations as acting as a pipeline for conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone.[16]

United States enacted the Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) on April 25, 2003[17], and implemented on July 29, 2003 by Executive Order 13312[18] [19] . The CDTA installed the legislation to implement the KPCS in law in the United States. The implementation of this legislation was key to the success of the KPCS, as the United States is the largest consumer of diamonds. The CDTA states: 'As the consumer of a majority of the world’s supply of diamonds, the United States has an obligation to help sever the link between diamonds and conflict and press for implementation of an effective solution'[17]

"Conflict-free" Diamonds

The media attention on conflict diamonds has led to a number of attempts to promote an "ethical alternative" to diamonds from traditional channels. Canada is a diamond producer[20] not directly affected by conflict diamonds, and its diamond manufacturers are promoting their domestically-produced diamonds as conflict-free. [21] [22]

Other substances are sometimes sold the same way as conflict diamonds, such as coltan and gold.

Numerous popular culture references to conflict diamonds have appeared in recent years.

  • In the 2005 film, Lord of War, much of the plot centered around the sale of arms to Liberia, financed by conflict diamonds.
  • The topic of conflict diamonds was also the subject of an episode of Law & Order, titled "Soldier of Fortune".
  • American author Tom Zoellner wrote a nonfiction book published in 2006 called The Heartless Stone which detailed the history of the conflict diamonds, and presented weaknesses in the Kimberley Process.
  • An episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation centered around the "accidental death" of a trainer by a horse kick. Investigations later reveal that the horse was an unwilling carrier of packets full of conflict diamonds cushioned by lentils.
  • In the 2004 computer and video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, set in 1992, advertisement of the Ammunation firearms store chain can be heard in ammunition stores, stating that buyers can purchase goods with conflict diamonds.

References

  1. ^ Conflict Diamonds United Nations Department of Public Information, March 21, 2001, accessed online December 26, 2006
  2. ^ "Blood diamonds, sometimes known as conflict stones, were so named in the 1990s by advocacy groups wanting to call attention to the fact that diamonds were being smuggled out of countries at war specifically to buy more arms and kill more people." [1]
  3. ^ a b c Security Council Resolution 1173. United Nations. 1998. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  4. ^ Diamond Production Estimates - 1999 World Diamond Council website, accessed November 5, 2006
  5. ^ a b Conflict diamonds World Diamond Council website - DiamondFacts.org, accessed November 5, 2006
  6. ^ [2] Partnership Africa Canada Website accessed January 7, 2007
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Conflict diamonds World Diamond Council website - DiamondFacts.org, accessed November 5, 2006
  8. ^ The Heart Of The Matter Sierra Leone, Diamonds & Human Security Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), accessed November 5, 2006
  9. ^ Background Kimberley Process website, accessed December 8, 2006
  10. ^ Resolution 1295 (2000) UN Security Council, 18 April 2000. In this resolution the Security Council wrote: Welcomes the proposal that a meeting of experts be convened for the purpose of devising a system of controls to facilitate the implementation of the measures contained in resolution 1173 (1998), including arrangements that would allow for increased transparency and accountability in the control of diamonds from their point of origin to the bourses, emphasizes that it is important that, in devising such controls, every effort be made to avoid inflicting collateral damage on the legitimate diamond trade, and welcomes the intention of the Republic of South Africa to host a relevant conference this year
  11. ^ Fact #6 World Diamond Council website - DiamondFacts.org, accessed December 8 2006
  12. ^ a b Diamond leaders in pact to ban 'conflict gems' funding African wars CNN.com, July 19, 2000 , accessed online December 9, 2006
  13. ^ Eli Izhakoff,Chairman's Report of the World Diamond Council 1st Annual Meeting World Diamond Council Website, accessed November 6, 2006
  14. ^ UN Resolution 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 UN 96th plenary meeting, 13 March 2002, accessed online November 6, 2006
  15. ^ Clinton, William FR Doc. 01–2140 - Executive Order 13194 of January 18, 2001 - Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds From Sierra Leone The White House, January 18, 2001, accessed online December 24, 2006
  16. ^ Bush, George W. FR Doc. 01–13381 - Executive Order 13213—Additional Measures With Respect To Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds From Sierra Leone The White House, May 22, 2001, accessed online December 24, 2006
  17. ^ a b Public Law 108–19 - An Act To implement effective measures to stop trade in conflict diamonds, and for other purposes. Apr. 25, 2003 108th Congress of the United States, April 25, 2003, accessed online December 24, 2006
  18. ^ Bush, George W FR Doc. 03–19676 - Executive Order 13312 of July 29, 2003 - Implementing the Clean Diamond Trade Act The White House, July 29, 2003, accessed online December 24, 2006
  19. ^ Conflict Diamonds: Agency Actions Needed to Enhance Implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade Act, September 2006 United States Government Accountability Office website, accessed online December 8, 2006
  20. ^ Canada: A Diamond-Producing Nation National Conference Board of Canada, accessed December 17, 2006
  21. ^ Comments on a National (Canadian) Diamond Strategy law article commenting and extending on the National Diamond Strategy (a report by a formal national committee published December 2003). It is made clear that branding is not so much a negative branding (as in "conflict-free") but a positive branding in addition to specific policy measures of the Canadian Government: very active policy measures varying from import/export rules for diamonds to active role in Kimberly process. Branding occurs through different names from "made in Canada" to "mined in Canada" to "Canadian arctic diamond" if it is mined, cut and polished in the Northwest Territories, accessed December 17, 2006
  22. ^ The Kimberley Process and Canada's Diamond Industry, Natural Resources Canada website, December 13, 2002, accessed December 21, 2006
  • Bergner, Daniel, In the Land of Magic Soldiers, New York: Picador (2003), ISBN 0-374-26653-0.
  • Campbell, Greg, Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones. Boulder: Westview Press (2002), hardcover, ISBN 0-8133-3939-1; trade paperback, 252 pages, ISBN 0-8133-4220-1
  • Cilliers, Jakkie and Christian Dietrich (eds.), Angola’s War Economy (Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2000). Available online at: http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/BOOKS/ANGOLA.HTML
  • Epstein, Edward Jay, The Rise and Fall of Diamonds, New York: Simon&Schuster (1982), ISBN 0-671-41289-2
    The Diamond Invention, book online version
  • Le Billon, Philippe, Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts (London: Routledge, 2005), ISBN 0-415-37970-9
  • Le Billon, Philippe, Fatal Transactions: conflict diamonds and the (anti)terrorist consumer, Antipode, 2006, 38(4): 778-801.
  • Levy, Arthur V. (ed.), Diamonds and conflict : problems and solutions , Hauppauge, N.Y. : Novinka Books, (2003), ISBN 1-59033-715-8.
  • Reno, William, Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1995).
  • Tamm,Ingrid J. Diamonds in peace and war : severing the conflict-diamond connection, Cambridge, Mass.: World Peace Foundation, (2002), ISBN 0-9721033-5-X available online at: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/Web%20Working%20Papers/WPF-Tamm%20Diamond%20Report.pdf
  • Zoellner, Tom, "The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire," (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006), hardcover ISBN 0-312-33969-0.
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