Illicit Diamond Trade: “Conflict Diamonds”

Illicit Diamond Trade:“Conflict Diamonds” Ciara Kelly, Patricia Mendoza, Kassandra Oropeza, and Baillie Stewart

“ ‘Diamonds are forever’ it is often said. But lives are not. We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds” -Martin Chungong AyaforChairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts Courtesy of http://un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

What is a “conflict diamond”? A conflict diamond is defined by the United Nations as diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.This basically means that a conflict diamond is a diamond whose profit is used to fund rebellions against the nation it comes from. Courtesy of http://un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

A little history... Diamonds found in 1867 in South Africa revealed a vast supply of previously undiscovered diamonds in Africa and world diamond production increased tenfold in the next decade.Africa is the leading continent for diamond production, producing 49% of the world’s supply. Courtesy of http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/africa.html and http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/other.html

“It has been said that war is the price of peace…Angola and Sierra Leone have already paid too much. Let them live a better life.” -Ambassador Juan LarrainChairman of the Monitoring Mechanism on sanctions against UNITA Courtesy of http://un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

UNITA in Angola • UNITA - National Union for the Total Independence of Angola • Fought the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola after the Portuguese withdrew because their beliefs of how the country should be governed differed, leading to the Angolan Civil War. • 500,000 Angolans died in the war (from 1975 to 2002). Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Unita.jpg Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNITA

RUF in Sierra Leone • RUF - Revolutionary United Front, a rebel army in Sierra Leone • Fought and failed in a war lasting 11 years, from 1991 to 2002. • Later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007. • Its three main leaders were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in February 2009. Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_United_Front

UNITA and RUF’s role in the illicit diamond trade... • Both rebel groups have ignored numerous orders from the United Nations Security Council to banning them from monetary gain from the sales of illicit diamonds • Summary: They’ve been using the money from selling diamonds illegally to fund their rebellion efforts and continue their violence and brutality.

What is the United Nations doing? The UN General Assembly recognizes that conflict diamonds are a leading source of income for rebel groups prolonging wars and that “legitimate” diamonds “contribute to prosperity and development in [Africa].” Therefore, UNITA and RUF are counterproductive to the main objective of the UN: WORLD PEACE. Courtesy of http://un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

What is the United Nations doing? So…on December 1, 2000, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to prevent the “role of diamonds in fueling conflict, breaking the link between illicit…diamonds and armed conflict.” Courtesy of http://un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

The KPCS: Kimberly Process Certification Scheme The KPCS was introduced by the UN Resolution 55/56 in 2003 to prevent illicit diamonds from entering the mainstream diamond market and to assure consumers that they weren’t funding the abuse of human rights with their diamond purchases. In order for a country to be a part of this organization, they must prove that their diamonds’ sales are not used to finance groups seeking to overthrow the UN-recognized government of that country. Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_Process_Certification_Scheme

The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme • In order to be KPCS-certified, each shipment of diamonds must be… • Transported in a tamper-resistant container • Accompanied by a KPCS certificate resistant to forgery with a unique number and description • If a country doesn’t follow these rules, the country may be removed from membership. If it is a major concern, the country may be investigated by the World Trade Organization. Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_Process_Certification_Scheme

Diamond Industry Organizations • The diamond industry organizations also self-regulate by… • trading only with companies that include warranty declarations on their invoices • to not buy diamonds from suspect sources; or unknown suppliers; or countries that have not adopted the KPCS; or sources that have previously violated regulations regarding conflict diamonds • to not knowingly buy, sell, assist others in buying or selling conflict diamonds • Failure to comply puts the member at risk of expulsion from industry organizations Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_Process_Certification_Scheme

De Beers Diamonds, the industry leader... De Beers established a revolutionary policy in the 1990s to only buy diamonds that were legitimately traded, even though they came under suspicion of sales of conflict diamonds as the industry leader. In 1999, they stopped buying of any outside diamonds to guarantee conflict-free status. De Beers states that 100% of its diamonds are conflict-free and that all of their diamonds are purchased according to national law, the KCPS, and its own Diamond Best Practice Principles. Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beers#Conflict_Diamonds_and_the_Kimberley_Process

In Conclusion... Conflict diamonds led to a series of crimes and conflict between rebels and their governments, and should no longer be used to fund rebellions, as it only hinders the common goal of WORLD PEACE.

THANK YOU!!!

Illicit Diamond Trade: “Conflict Diamonds”