Introduction
The expression ‘conflict’ or ‘blood diamonds’ describes renegade armed militias in certain regions of Africa who control the extraction and export of unregulated diamonds and use the profits to finance armed campaigns. These ‘conflicts’ have resulted in the slaughter, torture, and rape of an untold number of innocent civilians and have led to the displacement of millions. This discussion profiles the ‘blood diamond’ industry and the problems it creates then concludes with suggestions to alleviate this horrific humanitarian catastrophe.
Blood Diamonds
Diamonds Symbolize Love and Atrocity
Diamonds are commonly associated with glamour, love, and affluence but the discovery that they were financing conflicts in Sierra Leone, The Congo, Liberia, and Angola took the ‘shine off the stone.’ “In some African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo tens of thousands of civilians have over the past years been killed or tortured and millions have been displaced” (International Secretariat, 2006).
Many came to realize that they not only financed genocide and other acts of vulgar inhumanity by purchasing a diamond but were also wearing and flaunting this symbol of human suffering. The main source of this horrific revelation to the world community was last year’s movie ‘Blood Diamond’ which attempted to alert the masses to the atrocities occurring in Africa. Until then, this situation was largely ignored by Western governments and news media. In one scene of the movie, the character Maddy Bowen witnesses a massive refugee camp that contains more than a million displaced, poverty-stricken, desperate people and says “we’ll only get a glimpse of it in CNN, somewhere between Sports and Weather” (Zwick, 2006).
Diamonds are Attractive to More than Brides
Rebel militias deal in the illegal diamond trade for many reasons. The most obvious is that diamond’s value-to-weight ratio is very high which allows for great amounts of capital to be easily transported. Diamonds are mined with low-profile, rudimentary tools and in various regions, many of which are remote making it all but impossible to adequately patrol. Additionally, determining the source of individual diamonds is tremendously problematic although efforts have been made in this respect such as the Angolan government issuing tamper-proof ‘certificates of origin.’ In this nation, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), an anti-government group backed by the U.S. government, is heavily involved in the extraction and distribution of illegal diamonds.
The first year these tighter controls were enacted, UNITA profits dropped but it was also at this time (1999-2000) that this group lost a portion of its mines as a result of losing the decades-long civil war it had fought with the government. Though the initial reports were promising, the issuance of certificates has in effect done little to stem the sale of ‘blood diamonds.’ “UNITA is still trading in illicit diamonds, has access to funds abroad, and its officials are traveling freely in several countries outside Angola” (Goreux, 2001).
The value of illegal diamonds mined and traded by rebel armies reaches into the billions of pounds that have purchased the large caches of weapons used to murder many millions of innocent people during the past two decades. Despite sanctions put in place by the UN, a study by Global Witness, an international, non-governmental group that documents the abuse of people and natural resources, found that “Diamonds have provided funding for several brutal conflicts in Africa, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people” (Kelbie, 2006). Illegal stones are smuggled from diamond-producing areas to neighboring nations where they either are mixed with certified lots are simply sold outright by means of the black market.
Diamonds Fund Slave Labour
It is known that rebel groups use what amounts to little better than slave labor, forcing many hundreds of people to work the diamond mines in three Ivory Coast towns which, alone, produce 300,000 carats of diamonds every year at a value of more than £14 million. The totals for illegal diamonds throughout all of Africa are unknown but the number of these impoverished diamond miners has been estimated to make up approximately 10 percent of the labor force in many African nations.
The miners are initially enticed by the dream of discovering a large stone that would make them wealthy but the vast majority do not find such a stone and continue mining because there are few other jobs available in these regions. Most miners are severely impoverished therefore are easily recruited by rebel groups to become a member and fight for their cause (Kelbie, 2006).
Diamonds Fund Worldwide Terrorism
Another disturbing recent trend reported by Global Witness is that terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda have permeated the illegal diamond trade to raise money for their activities and as a means to launder vast sums of money. Al-Qaeda is thought to be involved, for example, in Liberia where they staged a diamond funneling and money laundering operation for a Sierra Leone rebel group that murdered more than 50,000 and tortured, raped, and abducted many thousands of others in one year alone. More than a quarter of a million people have been killed in Liberia by rebel forces. Al-Qaeda is also involved in illegal diamond operations in Tanzania and Sudan. In addition to assorted rebel groups and Al-Qaeda using ‘blood diamonds’ to finance their ventures, Hezbollah is also active in this illegal pursuit (Kelbie, 2006).
“Terrorist organizations often rely on the international trade network to trade contraband to fund their various operations. The increasingly fluid nature of the global investment and distribution networks makes such trade increasingly less risky and therefore much more likely” (Matthew & Shambaugh, 1998).
Transnational terrorists often take advantage of the international trade network to market goods or services in an effort to marshal resources with which to carry out their criminal activities. “Saudi Arabia, home of Osama bin Laden himself and many of his funders, has been embedded in the global oil economy since well before most Al Qaeda members were born. And Afghanistan, their current home, is almost entirely outside the circuits of global trade and capital flows – an exclusion that contributes greatly to its extreme poverty and social disintegration” (Henwood, 2001).
Kimberley Certification
Path to Legitimacy
The Kimberley Certification Scheme has been implemented by legitimate diamond traders around the world fearing that the demand for diamonds would sharply decrease when people became aware of the human misery their sale ultimately caused. Most diamond buyers fully cooperated with this scheme knowing that public awareness could greatly diminish their profits much as it did the fur industry. This certification system has, so far, somewhat positively affected the public relations aspect of the industry but in reality, has done little to curb the illegal trade. “The Kimberley Process lacks the ability to monitor itself. Governments are yet to swallow hard and say ‘yes, we will check up on each other,” according to the head of Britain’s diamond office Clive Wright (Jones, 2003).
Prevalence
‘Blood diamonds’ account for up to 15 percent of the £6 billion per year extracted from the diamond mines of Africa (Dunn, 2000). The diamond buying public can avoid the funding of these rebel groups and terrorist organizations by asking questions of the diamond merchants before the purchase. “How can I be sure that none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds, do you know where the diamonds you sell come from, can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds, and can you show me a written guarantee from your diamond suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict-free?” (Kelbie, 2006). While some companies are honestly attempting not to buy ‘blood diamonds,’ others are concerned only with profit and do not care where these rough diamonds emanate from.
Conclusion
The Kimberley Certificates will be useful in stemming the tide of the illegal diamond trade only if African governments allow neighboring countries to monitor each others’ actions to prevent corruption. This has not as of yet occurred on a widespread basis. In addition, if governments were to improve economic conditions, this would supply increased employment opportunities and the allure of diamond mining would decrease.
Another long-term solution to the problem would involve worldwide efforts designed to end the violence of rebel forces. Transparency of government, the economic stability of African nations, and the genuine concern of the issue by those who purchase diamonds must work in concert if ‘blood diamonds’ are to be eliminated.
However, the governments of the world, including the U.S. who ignored the atrocities they knew to be occurring for many years are joining with the citizens of the world who now know of the problem and are not enraged enough to stop buying diamonds. Evidently, the power of the purse is stronger than the power of compassion. As the carnage continues, few give a thought to how the pretty rock on their hands got there and, as a result, have blood on their hands instead.
Works Cited
Campbell, Greg “The Sordid History Behind Africa’s Conflict Diamonds” The Christian Science Monitor (2006). Web.
Dunn, Kate. “Blood Diamonds: Tainted Gems Lose Sparkle as Prices Fall.” Relief Web. (2000). Web.
Goreux, Louis. “Conflict Diamonds.” The World Bank: Africa Region Working Paper Series, N. 13. (2001). Web.
Henwood, Doug. “Terrorism and Globalization.” The Nation. (2001). Web.
International Secretariat. “The True Cost of Diamonds – Kimberley Process.” Amnesty International. (2006). Web.
Jones, Lucy. “Al-Qaeda Traded Blood Diamonds.” BBC News. (2003). Web.
Kelbie, Paul. “Rough Trade: Diamond Industry Still Funding Bloody Conflicts in Africa.” The Independent. (2006). Web.
Matthew, Richard & George Shambaugh. “Sex, drugs, and heavy metal: Transnational threats and national vulnerabilities.” Security Dialogue. Vol. 29, (1998):163-75. Web.
Zwick, Edward (Editor). Blood Diamond. [DVD]. Warner Bros. Pictures. (2006).