Blood diamond (also called diamond conflict , diamond war , hot diamond , or red diamond ) is a term used for diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance insurgencies, armed attack war effort, or warlord activities. This term is used to highlight the negative consequences of a diamond trade in certain areas, or to individual diamond labels originating from the area. Diamonds were mined during recent civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, and Guinea Bissau have been labeled. Sources of conflict The term refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources.
Video Blood diamond
History
Angola
The report estimates that as much as 20% of the total diamond production in 1980 was sold for illegal and unethical purposes and 19% were specifically conflict-bound. In 1999, illegal diamond trade estimated by the World Diamond Council has been reduced to 3.06% of world diamond production. World Diamond Council reports that in 2004 this percentage dropped to around 1%, where it remained.
Despite the UN Resolution, UNITA may continue to sell or trade some diamonds to finance its war effort. The UN set out to find out how the rest of the illicit trade was done and appointed Canadian ambassador Robert Fowler to investigate. In 2000, he produced the Fowler Report, which was named the countries, organizations and individuals involved in trading. The report is credited with building links between diamonds and third world conflicts, and leads directly to UN Security Council Resolution 1295, as well as Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast began to develop a newborn diamond mining industry in the early 1990s. The coup overthrew the government in 1999, starting a civil war. The country became a route for exporting diamonds from war-ravaged Liberia and Sierra Leone. Foreign investment began withdrawn from Ivory Coast. To restrict illegal trade, the state stopped all diamond mining and the UN Security Council banned all diamond exports from Ivory Coast in December 2005.
Despite UN sanctions illegal diamond trade still exists in Ivory Coast. Rough diamonds are exported abroad to neighboring countries and international trading hubs through the northern part of the state-controlled Forces Nouvelles section, a group reportedly using this chele fund to rearm.
Democratic Republic of The Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) has experienced many looting wars in the 1990s, but has been a member of the Kimberley Process and is now exporting about 8% of the world's diamonds. After one of De Beers's most famous and priceless diamonds, the D-color 777 carats (155.4 g) Millennium Star was found in DRC and sold to De Beers, in open competition with other diamond buyers, between 1991 and 1992.
Liberia
From 1989 to 2003, Liberia was involved in a civil war. In 2000, the United Nations accused Liberian President Charles G. Taylor of supporting the revolutionary United Revolutionary Front (RUF) rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone with weapons and training in return for diamonds. In 2001, the UN imposed sanctions on the Liberia diamond trade. In August 2003, Taylor resigned as president and, after being exiled to Nigeria, faces trial in The Hague. On July 21, 2006, he pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity and war crimes, where he was found guilty in April 2012. On May 30, 2012, he commenced a 50-year sentence in a high security prison in England..
Around the time of the US embassy bombing in 1998, al-Qaeda allegedly bought gems from Liberia as several other financial assets were frozen.
After regaining peace, Liberia seeks to build a legitimate diamond mining industry. The UN has lifted sanctions and Liberia is now a member of the Kimberley Process.
In December 2014, Liberia's diamonds were reportedly partially produced using child labor in accordance with the List of US Workforce List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor .
Sierra Leone
The civil war began in 1991 and continued into 2002, costing at least 50,000 people and causing local residents to suffer murder, mutilation, rape, torture and kidnapping, mainly because of the brutal war carried out by the rebel group The Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) claimed that they supported the causes of justice and democracy at first, but then they began to control the villages and prevent the local population from choosing a new government by cutting their limbs. Victims include children and infants. This creates many examples of physical and psychological human damage in Sierra Leone
In addition, they also occupy diamond mines to gain access to funding and continue to support their actions. For example, during that time, RUF mined diamonds up to $ 125 million per year. Because diamonds are used as a source of funding, they also create opportunities for tax evasion and financial support for crime. Therefore, the UN Security Council imposed diamond sanctions in 2000, which was later repealed in 2003. According to National Geographic News, all civil wars and conflicts created by insurgent groups result in more than four million deaths in the African population and injuries over two million civilians. Another recent conflict diamond statistic from Statistic Brain, reveals that Sierra Leone has been listed as the second highest in conflict diamond production shown as 1% of World Production, after which Angola has produced 2.1% in 2016. Percentage of Sierra Production of Leone diamond which is a conflict diamond is 15% in total. This shows that conflict diamond production still exists in Sierra Leone today.
According to the 2005 State Report on African Human Rights Practices from the United States, it is also disclosed that the serious human rights issue in Sierra Leone still exists even though the 11-year civil conflict has officially ended in 2002. Sierra Leone remains in an unstable political situation ; the state has chosen a new government. The great consequences of blood diamonds still remain a major problem in Sierra Leone. One of the biggest problems is that people are still being tortured by security forces, including rape, and excessive use of force with detainees, including teenagers. Also, child abuse and child labor are other serious problems that occur in Sierra Leone after civil conflict. Because they need many workers, they start kidnapping and forcing young adults into their slaves; children are forced to join their army to become child soldiers, and women are raped; they even burned down the villages they encountered. Thousands of men, women and children were treated as slaves to collect diamonds; they were forced to use empty hands to dig mud along the riverbanks, instead of digging with tools.
Based on the report, The Truth About Diamonds: Conflict and Development from Global Witness, it is mentioned that Sierra Leone is listed as the second from the bottom of the United Nation Human Development Index. It also shows that Sierra Leone is still making slow progress, in 2016, in various aspects such as education, health and human rights, since 1990, which is also the year of the conflict in Sierra Leone. This shows that it is a big consequence of the blood diamonds that are brought to Sierra Leone. Although the war ended in 2002 and the government tried to improve and adjust the diamond industry cooperation. Sierra Leone generated an increase of more than US $ 140 million in 2005 and tried the percentage of export tax returns to the diamond mining community. However, it does not increase anything - the money does not reach the public and has not provided benefits to anyone in the community. For example, Kono district in Sierra Leone has been mined for 70 years, but they still lack basic facilities, such as electricity and road repairs. The house was ruined by civil war. It also examines unethical issues about how rebel groups treat the locals. They used the brainwashing of inexperienced youngsters and forced them into child soldiers because they lost their personal freedoms and privileges under a command that included violence and intimidation.
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) was excluded from the Kimberley Process in 2004 because, despite not having an official diamond mine industry, the country is exporting large quantities of diamonds, whose origins can not be spelled out. It was also accused of falsifying origin certificates. Republic of Congo accepted back in 2007.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Diamonds is not considered a diamond of conflict by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
In July 2010, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme agreed that diamonds from disputed Marange Diamond Fields could be sold on the international market, after a report from the previous month's Scheme monitor described the diamonds mined from the fields as conflict free.
Maps Blood diamond
Conflict diamond campaign
Global Witness is one of the first organizations to find links between diamonds and conflicts in Africa in its report entitled "A Rough Trade". With the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1173 in 1998, the UN also identified the problem of conflict diamonds as funding for the war. The Fowler report in 2000 detailed in detail how UNITA financed its war activities, and in May 2000 directly led to the resumption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295 and the diamond-producing countries of the South African meeting in Kimberley, South Africa to plan a method whereby conflict diamond trades can be stopped, and diamond buyers can be assured that their diamonds do not contribute to violence. In this resolution, the Security Council writes:
Welcoming the suggestion that expert meetings be held for the purpose of designing a control system to facilitate the implementation of the measures contained in Resolution 1173 (1998), including arrangements that enable increased transparency and accountability in diamond control from their point of origin into the stock, emphasizing that it is important that, such control, every effort is made to avoid causing collateral damage to legitimate diamond trading, and welcomes the intention of the Republic of South Africa to host this year's relevant conference .
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
On July 19, 2000, the World Diamond Congress in Antwerp adopted a resolution to strengthen the ability of the diamond industry to block the sale of conflict diamonds. The resolution calls for an international certification system on export and import of diamonds, laws in all countries to accept only legally sealed diamond packets, for states to impose criminal prosecution on anyone in conflict diamond trade, and institutionalize a ban on any individual found. trading in diamond conflict from the diamond exchanges of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. The Kimberley process is led by the diamond-producing African countries themselves and the system traces diamonds from mine to market and organizes police around export, manufacturing and product sales. Also in tourist countries like Dubai and the UK, before gems are allowed through airports to other countries, Kimberley Certification must be shown by the owner of gems or obtained from a famous lawyer. On 17-18 January 2001, the diamond industry figures convened and formed a new organization, the World Diamond Council. The new agency is designing a new process, in which all rough diamonds can be certified as coming from non-conflict sources.
KPCS was approved by the United Nations on March 13, 2002, and in November, after two years of negotiations between government, diamond producers, and non-governmental organizations, Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created.
The Kimberley process seeks to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds, helping to stabilize fragile states and support their development. Since Kimberley Process has made life more difficult for criminals, it has brought a large number of diamonds to legal markets that will not work there. It has increased the income of poor governments, and helps them overcome their country's development challenges. For example, a $ 125 million diamond was exported legally from Sierra Leone in 2006, compared with almost none in the late 1990s.
Disadvantages and criticism
The Kimberley process ultimately failed to stem the flow of blood diamonds, leading major supporters such as Global Witness to abandon the scheme. In addition, there is no guarantee that diamonds with Kimberley Process Certification are actually conflict free. This is due to the nature of corrupt government officials in the leading diamond producing countries. It is common for these officials to bribe $ 50 to $ 100 a day in exchange for documents stating that blood diamonds are Kimberley Process Certified.
Transparency
The Kimberley system seeks to increase government transparency by forcing them to keep track of the diamonds they export and import and how much they value. In theory, this will show their financial government so that they can be held accountable for how much they spend for the benefit of the people of that country. But disobedience by countries like Venezuela has led to failure of accountability.
Materialistic Company claims that it can trace the origins of almost all diamonds using laser-induced spectroscopy spectroscopy. However, there is no way to tell if diamonds purchased online are blood-free or not.
Policy response
American Policy
On January 18, 2001, President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order of 13194 which banned the import of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone into the United States in accordance with UN resolutions. On May 22, 2001, President George W. Bush issued an Executive Order 13213 which banned the import of rough diamonds from Liberia to the United States. Liberia has been recognized by the UN as acting as a pipe for conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone.
The United States enacted the Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) on April 25, 2003, commissioned on July 29, 2003, by the Executive Order 13312. CDTA imposes legislation to implement KPC in law in the United States. Implementation of this law is the key to the success of KPCS, as the United States is the largest consumer of diamonds. CDTA states: 'As a consumer of most of the world's diamond supply, the United States has an obligation to help break the link between diamonds and conflict and urges to implement effective solutions.
The US State Department also has a Special Advisory office for Conflict Diamonds. On October 14, 2015, the position is held by Ashley Orbach.
Canadian Policy
During the 1990s a diamond-rich region was found in Northern Canada. Canada is one of the key players in the diamond industry. The Canadian African Partnership was created in 1986 to help overcome the crisis in Africa. This organization is also part of the Diamond Development Initiative. The Diamond Development Initiative helps improve and regulate the legal diamond industry.
The Kimberley process began in May 2000 by South Africa with Canada as a major supporter to institutionalize the scheme. Canada has now passed several laws that help stop the conflict diamond trade. The law deals with the export and import of rough diamonds, and also how they are transferred. In December 2002, the Rough Diamond Export and Import Act was authorized by the Canadian government. This Act acts as a system that helps control the import, export and haulage of rough diamonds through Canada. The Rough Diamond Export and Import Act also states that the Kimberley Process is the minimum requirement for rough diamond certification and certificates are also required for all shipping diamonds. This certificate is called a Canadian Certificate, granting permission for an officer to confiscate delivery of diamonds that do not meet the requirements of Export and Import of Rough Diamonds.
The Canadian Northwest Government (GNWT) also has a unique certification program. They offer Government certificates on all diamonds that are mined, cut and polished in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Canadian diamonds are tracked from a mine, through a refining process, to retail sellers with unique diamond identification numbers (DINs) that are inscribed with belt diamonds. To get this certificate one has to cut and polish the diamonds in NWT.
Technological responses
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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