Conflict Diamonds; Blood Diamonds and the Kimberley Process

    When you and your hubby to be are out shopping for that perfect jewel to symbolize a union you want God and all his followers to see, to recognize, to celebrate, what is it you look for? Is it a Ruby? A pearl? An emerald? No! Of course it’s not. It’s a diamond.

    Now ask yourself this question, why exactly is this automatically what comes to mind when people of Western Culture think of celebrating such a union? Why is this the jewel chosen to represent so many important milestones in our lives? Why diamonds for promising yourself, your heart to another? Diamonds for when your partner gives birth; in celebration for a special bond, for the soul mate birth of a baby boy, or child certificate pendants slathered with the names of your children? But why stop here? There are diamonds for all occasions. For when your baby girl walks across the stage to receive her graduation scroll we celebrate this achievement and buy her a sparkling white diploma pendant. When she becomes discouraged her first winter break after being away from home, we gift her with a bracelet that sparkles and spells “hope”. We name things “Dream Believe Achieve Bracelets”, “Journey Pendant”, “Eternity Ring, Band or Necklace.”

Special necklaces to be worn everyday and diamond earrings for everything in between. Women swoon for men to buy them these things. Every girl wants one, and women who have some greedily hunger for “humble” collections. Queens wear them about their crowns and princesses dangle them from wrists and ivory necks. It’s made it’s way into the hip-hop culture as “Ice”, “Bling” and everything from cell phones to tricked out gaudy baubles slathered in diamonds. Rapper Fat Joe states, "rappers don't call jewelry 'bling' anymore, we just call 'em "diamonds".

Diamonds! Diamonds! Diamonds! A girl’s best friend? Wonder why Kayne West sings these lyrics? "...Take your diamonds and throw ‘em up like you bulimic.."  It's because Blood Diamonds are Forever.

     Conflict – also known as “blood” – diamonds have been used by rebel groups to fund brutal conflicts in Africa, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people. Conflict diamonds caused rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) to chop off the body parts of countless innocent men, women, and children in Sierra Leone. Between 1991 to 2002 they seized control of the diamond mines to deter locals from supporting the government. They are also what funds terrorist groups such as Al-Quaeda. Al-Quaeda uses the profits from conflict diamonds for it's "activities" and as a constant stream of funding for the laundering of drugs, weapons and countless other monstrosities. It's impossible to know for certain how much money has been laundered, how much has gone strait into the pockets of terror, but it's definitely in the millions. The hundred millions.

    Wars fueled by conflict diamonds have killed over 4 million people, destroyed countries, and displaced millions more in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    The horrible reality of the "blood diamond" conflict made it's way into sight of western culture in 2006 when Leonardo DiCaprio stared in and action/adventure film called Blood Diamonds. Advocacy began in 2000 with the formation of an organization called The Kimberley Process, an organization who developed the Certification Scheme meant to stem the trade of conflict diamonds utilizing the efforts of industry leaders, governments and civil society representatives. It's meant to enforce extensive requirements on diamond traders to prevent the streaming of conflict diamonds into the market industry, and instead legitimize the selling of diamonds through means meant to profit the countries previously raped of it's resources and forced into slavery to work in these often dangerous mines. The hope; to tip the balance in favor of legitimate government and out of the hands of rebel groups. Helping these African countries out of the grasps of warfare and poverty.

    Before the ending of the civil war in 2002 less than $1 million of the profit from diamonds was being fed back into the government of Sierra Leone a year, now that number has reached into the $100 million mark. The Kimberley Process has been somewhat successful with the aiding of restoring means for an established government. I used the term "somewhat successful" hesitantly, as it is still a country recovering from years of gross violations of human rights.

~Annie Dunnebacke, spokeswoman for Global Witness.

    The Kimberley Process met to convene in Kimberley, South Africa It's foundation was based off a movement stirred by a Global Witness article "A Rough Trade" drawing attention to the conflict. That same year the implications were heard by the UN and a grassroots movement started. Since May of 2000 the governments of waring countries and the U.S under the leadership of President Bill Clinton came together to lay the groundwork for what was supposed to create a legitimate means of keeping these diamonds off the market. Now made up of 49 members representing 75 countries, leading Diamond Industries have elected in an effort to stop exportation through Liberia to the U.S, Canada and other leaders in the industry. Joining in the certification scheme were the The World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufactures Association have since faced much dilemma in their efforts to restructure the way diamonds make their ways into other countries. De Beers having had control of over 80% of the diamond market quickly had to face sanctions demanding change.

    A quote found on their homepage; an advertising mogul responsible for media influences birthing the diamond market in the late 1800's. Victorians became busy assigning abstract concepts to material objects. Flowers took on meanings; a yellow rose meaning "platonic love" and stones were soon to be established with these ideas. Often increasing the value of these stones. De Beers became an established diamond monopoly. Diamonds came to mean, "perfect love" and was reinforced in vigor in the 1930's as glamorous starlets were draped in huge white sparkly stones. An idea was born in 1947 when the hugely popular slogan circulated the U.S, a voice born in the city of London, " A diamond is forever”. People heard this and suddenly diamonds didn't crack, break or lose their value. (They do) Representatives went into high school home-ec classes to teach young girls the value of diamonds. Soon the only way to properly dispose of diamonds was to hand them down through the generations..

    De Beers starting pushing 10-year anniversary rings, and with the pushing of larger carat engagement diamonds they stopped utilizing diamonds coming from Russia (they were/are smaller white stones) and started mining in South Africa. In the late 1960's De Beers "engagement ring" concept traveled the seas and influenced the countries of Japan, Brazil and Germany. By the late 70's fifty percent of Japanese brides utilized the engagement ring concept and by 1981 sixty percent. Diamonds transformed from a mere product and instead became a symbol. A craze was born at the cost of war, rape, amputation, death, and poverty. Corrupt politicians formed and fed tribal rebel led warfare.

Sierra Leone may have had some success, however other countries still suffer from a sore lack of attention. Guinea in West Africa, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Lebanon are some examples of the worse countries. It is nearly impossible to know where our diamonds are coming from, short of being on site and finding them yourself.

The Guinea diamond production has increased by 500% in recent years. This aught to raise suspicion. Venezuela has had no diamonds exported in recent years when they have some of the most active diamond mine structures. This leads to the belief that most are being smuggled out of the country illegally. In 2008 Sierra Leone Kimberley Process experts assessed the illicit trade to be between 15 and 20%, 8-years after civil war ends. To line the pockets of who?

The diamond-fueled wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and Ivory Coast are stated to be now over, but the Kimberley Process still has an important role to play. It has the ability to maintain a countries stability, to lead to peace treaties and lead the way into a legitimate governmental structure in several countries to help eliminate poverty, famine and an extreme violations of human rights. Huge holes in it's infrastructure are continuing to allow this. Better trading centers need to be developed, an introduction of a better system to identify suspicious shipments of rough diamonds. Most of the countries joined have weak structureless government systems and it is impossible for them to impose the sanctions needed to efficiently regulate the diamonds. Paths are formed for exportation as a consequence and this poorness allows them to enter into the market and be certified as conflict free. A couple of these entrance points are in Ghana and Mali.

The Kimberley Process should serve as a model for other minerals and resources that are fast becoming yet another avenue for more warfare such as colton (used in cell phones) and fig-leaf. The work it is designed to do is imperative to sustain government prone to war. However these same governments and leading members of the industry are undermining it's efforts for various reasons. Is this a problem with the credibility of The Kimberley Process and it's efforts or willingness to interfere or is it something destined to fail because while men, women and children are forced into the pits of mines there are still those of us who insist that to own a diamond is to know "true love"?

Go here for further reading:

Is it Possible to Buy Guilt-free Diamonds?

Is The Kimberley Process Working?

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