The War Diamonds of Africa


by Arsene Bergkamp - Date: 2007-03-26 - Word Count: 430 Share This!

Diamonds are much sought after, but some come with a heavy price. This is no more true then when discussing the war diamonds of Africa.

As the saying goes, a diamond is forever. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, this saying is true on more than one level. African blood diamonds are those diamonds that are mined in a war zone under harsh circumstances, and then are sold in order to make money to finance warring parties. These diamonds are far from beautiful, and in fact, as their name suggests they are often deadly for those who are forced to mine them.

African blood diamonds are sometimes referred to as conflict diamonds or war diamonds. The practices and conditions under which these diamonds are obtained have come under much scrutiny in the past few years, and a spotlight has been placed on the existence of these illegally mined and traded diamonds. The song "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West depicted the harsh living and working conditions that the children of Sierra Leone have to endure in order to get these gems. The movie "Blood Diamonds", starring Leonardo DiCaprio, also tells this chilling tale.

Perhaps the most notorious area for blood diamonds is Sierra Leone (although other areas, such as Angola and Liberia have also been involved in this trade). In 1999, Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front signed a peace treaty agreeing to stop warring between their factions. At this point is also when the real information about the blood diamond trade came to light. In 2000, the UN Security Council signed a ban on the import and trade of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone, because of the concerns that this trade was monetarily fueling the war. Only diamonds from the Government of Sierra Leone were allowed to be traded outside the country.

In order to combat the sales and trade of African blood diamonds in the United States, the President signed a bill in 2001 that disallowed the sale and import of diamonds from Liberia as well as those from Sierra Leone. Liberia is known to be a "pipeline" for diamonds being smuggled out of Sierra Leone. In 2003, the US enacted the Clean Diamond Trade Act, which serves to further legislate the trade of diamonds to the United States, which is the world's largest consumer of diamonds.

To be sure they are not purchasing a blood diamond, many people have opted to purchase "conflict-free" diamonds from sources such as Canada (where diamonds are found in small quantities and are mined without issue). These diamonds are guaranteed to be unassociated with any African conflicts.


Related Tags: war, illegal, diamonds, conflict, diamond, africa, ban, sierre leone

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