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| What are Conflict Diamonds? |
| by: Ann O'Brien |
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Conflict diamonds are rough diamonds that are
traded or sold by rebel movements. The profits
from these diamonds are used to finance conflict
aimed at undermining legitimate governments.
Conflict or blood diamonds, as they are sometimes
called, are usually mined using illegal
employment practices. These illicit practices
include using underage workers, often children
well under the age of sixteen and in habitually
substandard conditions.
You have probably heard that most conflict
diamonds come from Africa. This is because in
Angola and Sierra Leone, conflict diamonds
continue to fund rebel groups. Based on this
information, the United Nations has put sanctions
on conflict diamonds from Angola and Sierra Leone
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Recent press on the topic of conflict diamonds has
created a need for the diamond trade and
governments to assure that conflict diamonds are
not allowed to enter the legitimate international
diamond distribution network. The ‘assurance’ we
have in place today are that the diamonds that
are mined in Africa have a Kimberley Process
Certificate included with the exported shipment.
The Kimberley Process Certificate is a forgery
resistant document which identifies a shipment of
rough diamonds as being in compliance with the
current requirements. This process requires that
all diamonds mined after January 1, 2003, be
shipped in tamper-resistant containers
accompanied by government-validated certificates.
How do you know if the diamond you are buying
contains a Kimberley Process Certificate? Can
you trust a jeweler who says their diamonds were
exported from non-conflict sources?
No individual diamond sold can come with complete
assurance that it has the Kimberley Process
Certificate attached to it. Since rough diamonds
change hands many times before they make it to
your local jeweler, and the entire shipment of
rough diamonds are what is being certified as
conflict free no jeweler can make the assertion
that an individual diamond has gone through the
Kimberley Process.
However, you can trust reputable jewelers who
state that their diamonds were mined from
conflict free sources. For example, diamonds
mined in Canada are conflict free. Check out
http://www.crystalmoonjewelry.com and http://www
.bellacustomjewlery.com for more information on
the Kimberley Process and buying conflict free
diamonds. |
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This article was posted on June 13, 2007
and reads 14 times. |
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