Blood Diamond

Blood or conflict diamonds mined illegally, often using forced labour, in African
warzones. The diamonds are then used to fund warlords
or insurgents trying to take over a country. Huge
amounts of money are at stake, murder, gamble, bribes,
threats, torture are modes of operation. This is why the
term "blood diamonds" is used. The popular Hollywood
film, Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio,
dramatised the role of the gemstone in Sierra Leone's
civil war, which took place between 1996 and 2002. In
1999, this trade was at the peak of the conflict and
worth $138 million a year was estimated by the World
Bank. The Antwerp Diamond Exchange has estimated
that blood diamonds from across Africa accounted for 15 per cent of market trade in
the 1990s. Today illegal diamonds are considered to be under one per cent of trade.
The story of Blood Diamond is based upon facts which describe how a mineral resource
can ignite the oppression and slaughter of thousands of innocent people. That diamond
changed and ended many lives, and the story of that stone carries a strong social
message.

The movie Blood Diamond based upon facts, describes that a large pink diamond found in Sierra
Leone in the 1990s by a fisherman working as a slave in a rebel-controlled diamond mine.

Conflict Diamonds and Kimberly Process:

 Blood Diamonds are also called Conflict Diamonds. The trade in Blood diamonds
has been responsible for stimulating conflicts in Angola, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast,
Liberia and the Congo. And the gems mined illegally area controlled by rebel forces and
often using forced labour of men,
women and children, in African. These
gemstones are then smuggled into the
international diamond trade and sold
as legitimate gems and often the main
source of funding for the rebels

What is the "Kimberly Process"?

The flow of Conflict Diamonds has

originated mainly from Sierra Leone,
Angora, Liberia, Ivory Coast and
Congo. The conflict diamond
producing zones, were in control of the Revolutionary United Front, which account for
2% of the world's production. Instead of helping Sierra Leone, the world's poorest
country, the diamonds were drained off to arm and
supply the rebels that left more than 120,000
people dead and millions homeless. Trailing the
Sierra Leone war, the UN set up the Kimberley
Process to regulate the trade in rough diamonds.
Their approach was to develop a procedure,
certified by government, known as the "Kimberly
Process."

The certification process accounts for all rough

diamonds, through every step of their movement, from mine to retail sale. This
procedure requires each nation to certify that all rough diamond exports are produced
through legitimate mining and sales activity. All rough diamonds exported from these
nations are to be accompanied by certificates. These certificates state that the
diamonds were produced, sold, and exported through legitimate channels. Retail
customers buying a cut diamond are encouraged to insist upon a sales receipt that
documents that the diamond originated from a conflict-free source.

Limitation of Kimberley Process: It applies only to rough diamonds: As the

Kimberley Process applies only to rough diamonds, Faceted stones are no longer
polished. In 2013, despite placing an embargo on diamonds sourced from Central
African Republic conflict diamonds sourced from areas under the control of armed
groups in the country still reached international markets. Also, Kimberley Process is not
authorised to address the broader range of risks to human rights posed by the trade in
diamonds, such as those which have been documented Zimbabwe.

However, Legal Diamond Trade The legitimate diamond

trade provides jobs for over 10 million workers all over
the world. That brings expansion to areas where this
activity occurs. Support of the Kimberly Process by all
nations and consumers can convert slavery into jobs and
smuggling into respected commerce. The efforts are
working. Today, almost all of the diamonds brought to
retail markets come from conflict-free sources.

"No Conflict Diamonds"

All the nations who agree to take part in the Kimberly process are not permitted to
trade with non-member nations. The Kimberly Process is believed to have reduced the
number of Conflict Diamonds that are reaching international gem markets. Today
approximately 81 governments and several non-government organizations abide by the
Kimberly Process. The only two nations which remain under Kimberly Process sanctions
as of December, 2006 were Liberia and Ivory Coast. The World Diamond Council
estimates that 99% of all diamonds are now conflict-free.

Black Truth of Blood Diamond:

Over a three year period the national army has visited alarming abuses on civilians
in Marange's diamond fields yet nobody has been
held to account for these crimes and joint venture
companies nominally brought in to improve
conditions are directly linked to the Zimbabwe. Zanu
PF political and military dictatorship are seeking to
capture the country's diamond wealth through a
combination of state-controlled violence and
introducing opaque joint-venture companies and
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme not only
unable to end the trade in conflict diamonds but it is
failed to react effectively to the crisis in Zimbabwe.
The Global Witness report describes how the MOM (Minister of Mines), has been at the
forefront of efforts to block oversight of the joint venture companies. Investment in
diamonds lack transparency and are done with scant regard for legal process, against a
background of violence and deterrence.