"Blood diamond" is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an invading army's war efforts. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas. I was first intrigued by what exactly they are and why they are controversial when I was on Pinterest and stumbled across a website called Brilliant Earth, where they specialize in conflict free and ethical diamonds mined in Canada. The illegal trade of rough diamonds is especially problematic in Africa, where most diamonds are cultivated. Diamonds sold to legitimate merchants need to be better regulated because conflict diamonds, or illegally traded rough diamonds mined in conflict zones, help fund wars in Africa.

The process of how a blood diamond gets from Africa to an engagement ring in America is this: men, women, and children abducted from their villages and enslaved by rebels are forced to mine or pan for the stones. They are then smuggled across the borders of African countries into the international diamond trade and sold to merchants as legitimate gems. The origin of rough diamonds are usually easy to recognize to those who specialize in the stones, but once they are cut and polished they are nearly indistinguishable, which is what makes them so hard to keep track of. The proceeds from the diamonds are used to finance arms or military actions, and have been estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars worth of diamonds since the illegal trade's inception (Campbell).

Most of the blood diamonds originating in Africa come from Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and the Ivory Coast. All of these countries, excluding the Republic of Congo, were plagued by civil wars that were mostly funded by blood diamonds. Liberia and the Ivory Coast, in particular, acted as pipelines for conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. Diamonds were used since they were so easy to get since there are so many of them waiting to be mined in Africa, and since they are such a valued commodity (Campbell).

The Revolutionary United Front, or RUF, was a rebel force that led to the overthrow of the government in Sierra Leone. It originated in 1991 with Foday Sankoh as the founder, allied with warlord Charles Taylor, the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, which is basically the Liberian equivalent of the Revolutionary United Front. Sankoh was a former corporal in the army of Sierra Leone before he was imprisoned for seven years because of his involvement in a mutiny. Sankoh was later arrested for various war crimes, including use of child soldiers and crimes against humanity, including extermination, enslavement, rape and sexual slavery. Before he began his sentence, however, he died from a stroke (BBC News). 

Taylor had previously worked for the Liberian government before he was removed for embezzlement. He was then trained as a geurilla fighter in Lybia and returned to Liberia backed by a Lybian rebel group, where he coerced the people into electing him president by threatening them with war.  In 2006 he pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity and war crimes of which he was found guilty in 2012, and he began a fifty year sentence in a high security prison in the United Kingdom (Cendrowicz, TIME).

At first the people of Sierra Leone saw the RUF as good because they resented the corruptness of their government and the crashing economy. The rebels promised free education, healthcare, and equitable sharing of diamond revenues, and their slogan was "No More Slaves, No More Masters. Power and Wealth to the People." However, they seemed to do the exact opposite. Instead of sharing diamond revenues, they used the money to buy weapons for themselves. Instead of implementing "no more slaves, no more masters," they enslaved and tortured thousands. For eleven years they carried out violent attacks on civilians that claimed around fifty thousand lives and displaced approximately two million people. In 2002 the United Nations military disabled the group and restored peace in Sierra Leone (Hazen).

Whether or not a more democratic nation was ever their original intention is unclear, but they very quickly developed a reputation for their cruelty by hacking off limbs to spread terror throughout the population. Brandishing machetes, the rebels amputated the hands, arms, and legs of tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans. The reason for these actions, they said, was that amputees could no longer mine diamonds, which might be used to support government troops. The government's election slogan at that time was that the people "had power in their hands," so the RUF would cut hands off to prevent voting (ABC News).

The widespread use of child soldiers was also a defining characteristic of the rebel force. They kidnapped children aged seven to twelve, but even took children as young as five years old. Thousands of abducted boys and girls were forced to serve as soldiers or as prostitutes, and were notoriously known for their unquestionable obedience. A total of eleven thousand children are thought to have participated in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Most were used for attacks on villages and to guard diamond fields and weapon stockpiles. Today, about two thousand are still left serving in the military of Sierra Leone (Human Rights Watch). 

Global Witness exposes the hidden links between the demand for natural resources, corruption, armed conflict, and environmental destruction. The goal of this group is "to achieve system-wide change that will starve corrupt dictators and warlords of looted funds, stop brutal resource-driven conflicts, and protect the planet's natural assets for the benefit of all." They use hard-hitting reports and investigations to "drive strategic advocacy by targeting decision-makers, campaigning to change laws, demanding accountability from political leaders and justice for perpetrators of crime and human rights violations." Their techniques to gather evidence include interviews, secret filming, photography, document research and often just physical presence. They work in partnerships and coalitions with individual allies and organizations in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia (Global Witness). 

In 1998 the non-governmental group discovered links between the civil wars and rebel movements in Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They released a report entitled "A Rough Trade," which was written to stimulate debate and action on a well known issue: the key role that diamonds played in the Angolan conflict. The introduction of the report states that "there is a dangerous acceptance amongst the international community that the mechanics of the trade in diamonds, particularly from National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) controlled areas, are beyond any real controls. Global Witness investigations show that governments flout the United Nations Security Council embargo on unofficial Angolan diamonds (those not sold under the control of the Angolan government diamond parastatal, Endiama)" (Global Witness).

Between 1992 and 1998 UNITA sold diamonds valued at $3.72 billion to finance its war with the government. The U.N. recognized the role that diamonds played in funding the rebels and in 1998 passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1173 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1176, banning the purchase of blood diamonds from Angola. Despite the UN Resolution, UNITA was able to continue to sell or trade some diamonds in order to finance its war effort. The UN set out to find how this remaining illicit trade was being conducted and appointed Canadian ambassador Robert Fowler to investigate. In 2000, he produced the Fowler Report, which named the countries, organizations and individuals involved in the trade. The report led directly to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (Global Witness).

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is perhaps the most important act that has been implemented to ban the sales of blood diamonds. After it passed as law in 2000, it 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. Also in tourist countries like Dubai and the United Kingdom, before gemstone could be allowed through their airport to other countries, the Kimberley Certification must be presented by the gem's owner (Williams).

The members of the Kimberley Process include fifty four countries, including the United States, United Nations, Sierra Leone, China, and Mexico. However, many of the countries involved have been suspended at some point due to violations. The Republic of the Congo was expelled from the Kimberley Process 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. It was also accused of falsifying certificates of origin, but was readmitted in 2007 (Williams).

Although the Kimberley Process has helped ebb the flow of blood diamonds, it has ultimately failed to do much more, leading key proponents such as Global Witness to abandon the scheme. There is also no guarantee that diamonds with a Kimberley Process Certification are actually conflict-free, due to the nature of the corrupt government officials. It is common for these officials to be bribed with $50 to $100 a day in exchange for paperwork declaring that blood diamonds are Kimberley Process Certified (Williams).

During the 1990s diamond-rich areas were discovered in Northern Canada. Canada is one of the key players in the diamond industry, and is also part of the Diamond Development Initiative. The Diamond Development Initiative helps improve and regulate the legal diamond industry. Canada has passed several laws that help stop the trade of conflict diamonds. In 2002 the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act was passed, and acts as a system that helps control the importing, exporting and transporting of rough diamonds through Canada. It also states that the Kimberley Process is the minimum requirement of certifying rough diamonds and a Canadian Certificate is also required for all shipments of diamonds. The Canadian Certificate gives permission for an officer to seize any shipment of diamonds that does not meet the requirements of the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act (Stop Blood Diamonds).

The Government of the Northwest Territories of Canada offers a Government certificate on all diamonds that are mined, cut, and polished in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Canadian diamonds are tracked from mine, through the refining process to the retail jeweler with a unique diamond identification number (DIN) laser inscribed on the diamond. To obtain this certificate one must cut and polish the diamond in the Northwest Territories (Stop Blood Diamonds).

An alternative to buying diamond jewelry from popular retailers who get their diamonds from conflict zones in Africa is to buy from ethical, conflict-free companies. In order to be certain a diamond is conflict free, companies such as Brilliant Earth provide such diamonds. The company's diamonds were initially sourced exclusively from the Diavik and Ekati mines in Canada. Canadian mines are the industry's primary source of ethically mined diamonds, because the working conditions are regulated by the government. Since then Brilliant Earth has also started sourcing diamonds from Namibia and Botswana, where the diamonds are sourced to the company's ethical standards. Only .01% of diamonds in the world meet their standards. Brilliant Earth uses recycled gold, silver and platinum materials or obtains them from co-ops that meet standards set by the Alliance for Responsible Mining. It also sells "vintage rings" that have had previous owners (Brilliant Earth). 

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme needs to be better regulated and enforced to completely stop the flow of blood diamonds. People are still dying for these stones because of corrupt, greedy officials who have no regard for human life or the environment. In order to slow the demand for diamonds, people could recycle their jewelry or buy exclusively from ethical companies. Blood diamonds should be more reported on so people can know what has and is going on in order for diamonds to be sold into the market.


