The truth about diamonds

What are conflict diamonds?

Conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, are diamonds that are used by rebel groups to fuel conflict and civil wars. They have funded brutal conflicts in Africa that have resulted in the death and displacement of millions of people. Diamonds have also been used by terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda to finance their activities, and for money laundering purposes.

Are conflict diamonds still a problem?

Diamonds are still fuelling conflict. In West Africa, diamonds from the rebel-held area of Côte d’Ivoire are being mined and are smuggled through neighbouring countries to international markets. The United Nations has recently reported that poor controls are allowing up to $23 million of conflict diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire to enter the legitimate trade through Ghana, where they are being certified as conflict-free, and through Mali.

The Kimberley Process was set up to stop the trade in conflict diamonds but it still isn’t strong enough to achieve its aim.

Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sierra Leone are still recovering from widespread devastation resulting from wars funded by diamonds. Diamonds continue to be used for money laundering, tax evasion and organised crime.

The number of conflict diamonds has significantly reduced because peace agreements have been signed in countries in Western and Southern Africa. But more diamond-fuelled wars could happen in the future unless the Kimberley Process strengthens government controls and the diamond industry cleans up its act.

What percentage of diamonds are conflict diamonds?

Statistics fail to illustrate the human cost of wars in which millions of lives have been lost, there has been widespread human suffering and devastation, and economies have been destroyed. As the brutal conflict in Sierra Leone showed, even a small amount of trade in conflict diamonds can wreak enormous havoc.

It is extremely difficult to estimate the current percentage of conflict diamonds as smuggling can easily take place outside government controls, creating a trade in illicit diamonds. Illicit trade, thought to represent up to 20% of global trade, shows that there are serious loopholes in the Kimberley Process.

Any type of diamond smuggling highlights weak spots in a system through which conflict diamonds can potentially infiltrate. Poor government controls also allow some conflict diamonds to be certified as ‘conflict-free’. Some members of the diamond industry are knowingly flouting international and national law, yet the lack of industry oversight and willingness to find and expel unscrupulous members of the trade allows these traders to operate with impunity.

How much of a problem were conflict diamonds in the past?

The diamond industry claims that at the peak of the problem in the 1990s, approximately 4% of the global trade in diamonds was conflict diamonds. This is incorrect. United Nations reports on Angola estimate that in 1996-1997 the Angolan rebel group UNITA exported an average of US$700 million annually which alone accounted for 10% of the global trade.1 Therefore it can be estimated that conflict diamonds represented as much as 15% of world total in the mid to late 1990s at the height of the diamond-fuelled wars in Angola and Sierra Leone.

What are governments doing?

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (Kimberley Process) was set up by governments to stop the trade in blood diamonds. Launched in January 2003, the scheme requires governments to certify shipments of rough diamonds as conflict-free, and seventy countries are members. Although the Kimberley Process makes it more difficult for diamonds from rebel held areas to reach international markets, there are still significant weaknesses that undermine its effectiveness and allow the trade in blood diamonds to continue.

A Kimberley Process meeting held in Botswana in early November made welcome commitments to strengthen the scheme but governments must accompany this with action if they are serious about stopping blood diamonds. All participating governments must have strong diamond control systems in place that are fully implemented. This must include adequate checks to make sure that diamond companies are complying with the scheme.