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Blood Diamonds

Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are diamonds that are mined in areas of conflict such as civil war. The profit made from these diamonds is used by rebels to fund the conflict against official governments. Most cases of blood diamond mining have been reported to occur in Africa, more specifically states such as South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and Sierra Leone. The issue of blood diamonds was brought to light in 1998 by the organization Global Witness, an organization that does research and brings awareness on economic networks that fund conflict, corruption, and environmental destruction.

Blood Diamond Mining Countries

for more information see Africa

Many African states have produced blood diamonds, particularly because they have experienced one form or another of civil war. Some continue to suffer through the issue, while others have risen above it

Sierra Leone

for more information see Sierra Leone Civil War

In most cases, diamond mining is seen as a positive change for a country because of all the profit it can bring in as a precious commodity. Sierra Leone however, sees it as a curse because diamonds are an important factor in the bloody civil war. Corruption by the government and the quantity of diamonds being smuggled go hand in hand as to why the problem is so problematic in Sierra Leone. The government of Sierra Leone is not able to provide its people with the general benefits most societies need for example healthcare and education. This is mainly because the industry brings in little revenue (due of all the smuggling). This makes it impossible to resolve the high level of poverty across the country, and this leads to rebels fighting the government and smuggling diamonds for profit. Foreign regulations have increased diamond earnings from $24 million to $141 million, but the government only receives 3% of that total export amount. This is clearly not enough to create a better living situation for the state and as a result, the blood diamond industry continues.

Angola

for more information see Angolan Civil War

Different from Sierra Leone, Angola is seen as the new success in the diamond mining industry. Angola experienced a long period of civil war with former rulers, Portugal. This war was mostly funded by profits from blood diamonds. Since Portugal was a very powerful country, Angola’s fight against them reflected negatively on Angola. This resulted in little interest in diamond mine investors. Years after the civil war there was a change in how Angola was seen by others from negative to positive. Oil has become an important industry for the state, and with it has also brought interest in the diamond mines. The Angolan diamond industry is very different from other African states. It has large diamond deposits with little industrial needs. Angolan diamonds are separated into three categories based on their purpose and quality; Gem quality making up about 70% of the market, near gem quality 20%, and 10% for industrial needs.

Despite the positive change investment is not as high as it should be. This is because of Angola’s very high ranking on international lists of lack of transparency, bribery, and corruption in business as well as governmental transactions. Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) oversees developments in African states that produce diamonds and say that Angolan diamond mining areas are depressing for the miners but also for other people living in the area. There is a need for clean drinking water, public investment, more schools, and better roads. They need to establish a computerized system to track all sources and exports of all diamonds that are produced. Also, certification of these diamonds should be done by the Ministry of Geology and Mines. All of this can be done with profits from producing diamonds. The state working on creating a new law for the mining sector that is aimed to regulate how companies allocate their profits. Despite the mining conditions and legal issues, more explorers are attracted to Angola because of the high quality of diamonds they produce. The government is taking actions into their hands by developing the industry to focus on taking care of Angolan poverty and stop smuggling. This will improve the overall situation for the country and its miners in the end.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

for more information see Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, or Kimberley Process for short, was created in 2003 with the purpose of preventing and stopping the trade of blood diamonds. Through time the Kimberley Process has helped raise awareness of the conflict diamond trade and has caused companies and consumers to rethink where they purchase their diamonds from. The Kimberley Process has set strict monitoring regulations on diamond producers. All diamonds are certified by the Kimberley Process and some producers choose to have an additional certification done by a third party to assure buyers that the product is legally mined. In time there have been discussions about Kimberly Process expanding the definition blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. Non-governmental organizations believe that human rights violations against the miners must be taken into consideration and also situations like in Zimbabwe where the government’s dictatorial regime is seen causing harm to the population, but is not taken into consideration because of the official definition of blood diamonds.

De Beers

for more information see De Beers

De Beers is one of the largest diamond producers in the world. After the conflict diamond campaigns De Beers suffered great losses, as did many other producers. As a result of great profit losses, De Beers now works closely with the Kimberly Process in order to insure that their diamonds are being legally mined in acceptable conditions. All De Beers produced diamonds are certified by the Kimberly Process and additionally by a third party. The Kimberley Process has also demanded that De Beers give up a small portion of their mines to smaller investors to avoid a monopoly in the diamond mining world. This makes it easier to regulate the flow of diamonds.