Corrupt Politics

If you are in the market for a beautiful piece of diamond jewelry, such as an engagement ring, it is vital that you pause to consider where that beautiful diamond comes from. Although diamonds have for long been loved and admired for their unique beauty, people have not known anything about where they actually come from. Now that is changing, as more and more people have access to information. You may have heard of conflict diamonds and perhaps you would like to avoid buying any; however, finding out if they are conflict diamonds is actually more difficult than you might think.

Blood diamonds are also known as conflict diamonds; essentially, they are stones that have been sold in order to fund wars, either through purchasing guns or paying soldiers. In many cases, they are funding illegal and unlawful operations run by rebel and terrorist groups, and they have played a significant role in the way that wars are run in some African countries. There are several countries that have been strongly impacted by the trade of blood diamonds and this has resulted in civilian casualties across the board, where people have suffered terror, mutilation and murder at the hands of groups who were funded in large part by the diamond trade.

One of the countries that has suffered severely “thanks” to the trade in blood diamonds is Angola, which became independent from Portugal in the mid 1970’s. At that time, a number of different groups were fighting to gain control of the country and one of them was the National Union for the Total Control of Angola (UNITA). In order to fund themselves and finance the war, UNITA sold diamonds internationally. But Angola is not the only affected country. A route that enables diamonds to be taken out of Liberia as well as the war torn country of Sierra Leone, cuts its way through Cote d’Ivoire. Even countries that have no diamond mining industry, such as The Republic of Congo, are affected. Congo exports many diamonds and yet they provide no information as to where the gems are from.

The the free world is trying to find ways to curb the availability of the diamond market for those who are involved in the sale of conflict diamonds. An excellent way was approved by the United Nations and is called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Any uncut diamonds that come from apparently conflict free zones have to undergo a process that will result in the certification of their origin. The Kimberley Process has two main objectives: the first is to end the influx of conflict diamonds into the diamond market, and the second is to see human rights abuses, because of the blood diamond trade, come to an end.

The Kimberley Process Certification System is presently represented by seventy-four countries around the world. Of those there are forty-eight who are actively participating in the Kimberley Process. This group is made up of major countries who are either involved with the production of diamonds, or are involved with the importing and exporting of them. Unfortunately, despite the effectiveness of the process and its UN approval, there is still a long way to go. The reason for this lies in the fact that the issue of how to determine a diamond’s origin and the way of doing so, are both very debatable issues.

So when you find yourself in the market for a diamond jewelry, you might decide that you do not wish to help fund the rebel wars that cause so much pain, loss and misery to thousands and thousands of innocent people. But finding out where the diamond is from is not always easy as many consumers have discovered. Some places will insist that finding out the origin of the diamond is simply not possible, while others merely discourage the consumers in some other way.

You need to be persistent and insistent if you want to avoid purchasing a conflict diamond, thereby funding terrorists who perform horrendous crimes against innocent civilians, as well as causing many, many deaths. Make sure that you ask the jeweler if the gem you are interested in is a blood diamond, but do not just take his or her word for it. Ask them to show you proof of the diamond’s origins. Also, you have the right to read the company’s policy on the issue of conflict diamonds so request a written copy. You can also ask to see the statements of their particular suppliers. If any or all of this is denied to you, for whatever reason, you can be sure that something is definitely not right.

Although it might require some extra effort, it is so important that you do your bit in helping to ban the blood diamond trade. Your conscience will be clear because you will also know that you have not contributed in any way to the ongoing suffering of countless thousands of innocent people.

Tags: Politics