The Film Blood Diamonds Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio highlighted one of the downsides of the Diamond trade.
Blood Diamonds are basically diamonds that are used to Fund Conflicts & wars.
These diamonds mainly come from African Countries like the DRC, Sierra Leone and Mali.
The Rebel groups opposed to the Governments in the Diamond producing countries use this precious resource to buy weapons, food and medicine to further their cause.
The Kimberley Process which is a certification process was set implemented in November of 2003 to curb the trade in illicit Diamonds.
It was set up by players in the Diamond industry and NGOs who lobbied for Diamond producing countries to join it.
Read more on the Kimberley process!!!
Has the process worked thus far, mostly yes!!
There is still a flourishing Industry in Blood Diamonds with Countries like Sierra Leone reporting up to 20% of their Diamonds are smuggled out of their country.
Diamonds are small & have extremely high value making it easier for Greedy dealers to use gaps in the system & abuse it.
The main issue has been that the industry has been unable to police itself very effectively.
In Africa, there are issues of Corruption & coercion between dealers and government officials that aid in smuggling.
Now this is where I introduce a new train of thought!!!
Diamonds like Gold & platinum are not only a natural resource but commodities as well.
This is despite the fact that they are not openly traded on an Exchange e.g. the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the case of Gold & Platinum.
The small scale miners in the Diamond producing countries rely on these Diamonds as a source of income.
These same countries can NOT stop them from mining as the miners could even own the land the Diamonds are on.
In fact, most countries encourage the diamond mining as a means of creating wealth among the masses.
Problem is, most of the African Diamond producing countries don't have the Resource & some the Will to regulate these small scale miners.
These miners are not very worried about who buys their stones.
As it is, they get ripped of during the sale as they normally don't have a good idea about the world markets.
So unscrupulous diamond traders buy from them & smuggle them out.
Whom do you put the blame on?
I personally think it's unfair to punish the small miner as he is trying to make a living & as much as you'd blame the dealers, they are in the Diamond business to make money.
Just as there are muggers in the streets who will take your money without pity, there are business people who have no ethics!!
The solution?
From my point of view, I propose that the Diamond producing countries with help from the International Diamond Council should add the "small" people to the Diamond Pipeline & make sure they get fair prices for their stones....sort of like what the Fresh produce industry did with Fair-Trade.
This will seal off quite a few of the holes in the Conflict Diamond industry.
Related Articles
Blood Diamonds- Amnesty International and Conflict Diamonds
By: Dana H | 26/11/2006 | Advice
Amnesty International monitors the events surrounding the diamond industry and the industry's efforts to make diamond trade more transparent. It also holds activities that foster awareness and that encourage buyers to actively participate in doing something to stop the diamond trade. Amnesty International has also made recommendations to help strengthen schemes aimed at stopping the trade in conflict diamonds
How to Tell If Yours is a Non Conflict Diamond
By: Dana H | 26/11/2006 | Advice
Blood diamonds are used to fund wars and other brutal activities in certain parts of the world. Diamonds sold in this illicit trade promote violence and kill people; you want to make sure that your own non conflict diamonds. .
The Life and Horrors of the Children of Africa
By: Dana H | 26/11/2006 | Advice
The innocent and not so innocent blood shed in the wars and coups financed by conflict diamonds IS the reason for the Africa diamonds being labeled "blood diamonds". However, though this may be ghastly enough, the truth is that the very roots of the diamonds are dark enough to warrant the label of blood diamonds even without the bloody wars.
Blood Diamonds in Popular Culture
By: Dana H | 26/11/2006 | Advice
There are more references to conflict diamonds in popular culture, which is a good thing. But people watching these blood diamond movies and hearing the songs should stop enjoying them and start listening to what they're saying. Listen to the message and start caring. It doesn't matter if all the artists in the world sing songs, make movies, or write stories about the conflict diamond trade if ordinary people will not pay attention to their message.
Diamond War- the Un Stand
By: Dana H | 26/11/2006 | Advice
The suffering of the African people became too much to ignore. The UN formally recognized the role that blood diamonds play in fuelling the wars and conflicts in Africa and decided to take some measures in order to put a stop to the vicious activities there.
International Terror and Blood Diamonds
By: Shlomit G | 28/02/2007 | Advice
Lest some people use the excuse of not being affected by blood diamonds for being complacent, we should be reminded that there is no such thing as an isolated incident. Everything is interconnected and eventually at some point, repercussions will affect everyone.
Sierra Leone Conflict Diamonds
By: Shlomit G | 28/02/2007 | Education
Rough diamonds can be smuggled into a "clean" country. After that, there would be no way of knowing where the gems came from. There is always a willing market somewhere in another country. Sierra Leone diamonds are well-known among the jewelry world to be one of the best quality diamonds available today. This is perhaps the main reason that blood diamonds have wreaked the havoc they have had over so many years
What you Can Do to Promote Conflict Free Diamonds
By: Shlomit G | 04/03/2007 | Advice
As a consumer you might feel that you cannot directly make an impact towards the resolution of this issue especially since diamonds are rare commodities and thus is something you can just stop buying. After all, the average person buys a diamond only once or twice in his lifetime. However, you can still make a difference.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Blood diamonds - third world countries situation
By: jill.007 | 28-02-2007
I recently saw the movie - "blood diamonds" with Leonardo De Caprio. They movie had a great subject but it wasn't so good, there were a lot of explosions and the plot wasn't that good.why they didn't emphasize the real idea - that the west is responsible to the third world countries situation? what do you think?
What percentage of diamonds sold in the world come ...
By: guliamo | 16-08-2006
what percentage of diamonds sold in the world come fromAfrica and can be considered "Blood Diamonds"... just trying to find a good answer to why I won't buy my girlfriend a diamond... heheh
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