Conflict-free Diamonds
Enlarge Image Last Sunday night, every one of us witnessed a lot of glamor and glitter at the annual function of Academy Awards. Well, it is for sure that the diamonds worn by those glamorous stars have pretty good pedigrees.
Even we, as the ardent fans of these stars know the complete history behind diamonds like Krupp Diamond or the famous Taylor-Burton diamond. But few diamonds don't carry such history!
The United Nations has passed the resolution to ban all blood diamonds and urged every one to go for conflict-free diamonds. So, what are these Conflict-free Diamonds all about? To know this better, let us try to understand the term Blood Diamond.
Blood Diamond
It is also called conflict diamond or a war diamond. It is defined by the United Nations as a diamond mined in a war zone and sold, usually clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading army's war efforts.
However, the definition by the U.N. sponsored Kimberley Process addresses very narrow aspect and does not include governments or government forces that trade in diamonds to finance their conflicts. It also failed to include the aspect of unfair labor practice.
History of Civil or Foreign War
A conflict diamond is any diamond that originates from such a war affected country where the profits from this industry go to fund arms trade or military organizations. During these wars, armed warriors clash for the command of the diamond mines due to their immense profitability. As it happens everywhere, the combating can't restrict to combatants and civilians are often killed during such campaigns.
Have a look at the following statistics provided by U.N. itself.
1. In Angola, during the civil war (1975-2002), approximately 500,000 people got killed, where UNITA, the rebel group controlled 70% of the diamond production. The funds were used extensively for fueling war machines.
2. In Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 3.3 million got killed during 1998-2003 where several rebel groups fought over the control of diamond mines.
3. In Sierra Leone (1991-1999), at least 50,000 got killed with reports of various atrocities like mutilation, rape, torture and abduction. Here again, RUF, the rebel group mined diamonds valuing $125 annually to fund its war.
The list goes on..., Due to the traditional closed trading of this industry, diamonds have become the most suitable currency for terrorist organizations
It is relatively easy to smuggle diamonds out for sale although access to diamond mines is restricted. These criminals commonly sell the rough diamonds to violent organizations, which pay a small amount for the smuggled diamonds and then resell them to other groups who successfully move the diamonds across the border. Such stone is known as a Conflict diamond because the funds acquired from this deal are used to purchase the weapons or support the cause of mercenaries.
Sometimes a transaction of conflict diamond is done directly against the purchase of weapons, to eliminate the track of the transaction. In other cases, the diamonds can be exchanged for currency of various nations. These funds are then deposited into the accounts of banks outside their own nation.
The transactions of blood diamonds are considered as a serious political and social crisis. Numerous people get killed in the quest of these diamonds, which include mine workers who are compelled to smuggle diamonds. The compelling conditions may vary from supporting their growing families, courtesy to their poverty to pay off the warlords who have threatened them. The weapons that the profit from trading diamonds purchase fuel violent civil conflicts in which innocent lives are stricken down. Wealth of billions of dollars have been amassed from the trading of these war diamonds, leading to million deaths.
Unfair Labor Practices
People involved in the mining process are often exploited. Several unfair practices are practiced which include child labor, absence of proper safety equipment, and refusal to pay fair wages.
Conflict-free Diamond
The term 'Conflict-free diamonds' engulfs more aspects than the narrow U.N. definition. They should be free from all types of violence and human rights abuses. Moreover, conflict-free diamonds are mined in an environmentally responsible fashion. Conflict-free diamonds must be independently tracked from their country and individual mine of origin.
It is normally not possible to detect the differences and distinguish blood diamonds from the conflict-free diamonds. However, the concern over the funding from the profit of the trade to war was on increase. This led to the Kimberly Process of Diamond Certification, which attempts to track the movements of diamonds and keep records through the international market.
Though, U.N. has banned the trade of such diamonds, trafficking of such diamond is still going on. As a consumer, it is our duty to ensure that the diamond we purchase should be conflict-free. It is a lifetime purchase for most of us. While purchasing a diamond we should seek the certification for its proof of conflict-free. Let us not become the cause of war funding or any malpractices like child labor, force labor.
