Conflict diamonds, sometimes called blood diamonds, are diamonds that are sold to fund the unlawful and illegal operations of rebel, military and terrorist groups. Countries that have been most affected by conflict diamonds are Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo — all places where citizens have been terrorized, mutilated and killed by groups in control of the local diamond trade.

Wars in most of those areas have ended or at least decreased in intensity, but conflict diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire, in West Africa, and Liberia are still reaching the trade labeled as conflict-free diamonds.

In 2000, South African countries with a legitimate diamond trade began a campaign to track the origins of all rough diamonds, attempting to put a stop to blood diamond sales from known conflict areas. Their efforts eventually resulted in The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), an international effort to rid the world of conflict diamonds.

Kimberley Process Goals

The goals of the Kimberley Process are to document and track all rough diamonds entering a participating country, with shippers placing stones in tamper-proof shipping crates and providing enough detailed information about their origins to prove they did not originate in a conflict zone.

The KPCS isn’t fully operational among its members — probably normal for an agreement that involves the cooperation of dozens of governments and non-governmental agencies. Many countries haven’t even committed to the program.

The goals of the KPCS will take time to achieve, but what’s already been accomplished is significant. Because it’s a self-regulating program, additional controls are necessary to truly ensure that blood diamond trade is halted — or at least minimized.

How consumers can help stop blood diamond trade.
Retailers cannot guarantee that the diamond you purchase is not a conflict diamond. As consumers, we have the power to change that by demanding details about the diamonds we buy. Demanding proof that a diamond is conflict-free sends a powerful message to the world that we will not support an industry or nation that helps fund terror groups. Change won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if we are persistent.

Canadian diamonds – the Code of Conduct
Canada has made progress in identifying diamonds originating in its mines. The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Authenticating Canadian Diamond Claims sets a standard for authentication of claims that a diamond is Canadian — and conflict free.

Adhering to The Code requires each company to initiate a paper trail that tracks a diamond’s progression from the mine to its retail destination. The Code also includes rules for proper handling, packing and marking of all diamonds that are represented as Canadian stones. Even with the guidelines, there’s no way to absolutely guarantee a diamond is Canadian, but the process definitely helps eliminate doubt.

The Canadian program is voluntary, so not all retailers participate. Those who do must provide consumers with:

* The diamond Identification Number
* The retailer’s name and address
* An invoice number and the date of the invoice
* The polished diamond description
* An explanation of the Code

A list of signatories of the Code is available online, naming retailers and wholesalers who are committed to following the Code’s procedures.

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine what life is like in countries where diamonds are the source of so much chaos and suffering, and the connection between terror and diamonds is not something that’s reported heavily in the press. The 2006 movie Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, should help make the issues more mainstream, if only temporarily.

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Conflict free diamonds are those that have been tracked to ensure that they have not come from conflict areas. They look no different than conflict diamonds and they cost no more than conflict diamonds, so how is one to ensure that they are buying a conflict free diamond?

First, look for diamonds that are from Canada. Most Canadian diamonds are tracked from the time they leave the mine to the time they are delivered to retail stores. They are mined using fair labor practices and according to environmental standards. As of recently, another country that provides diamond buyers with conflict free diamonds is Namibia. Some diamonds in Namibia have been mined, polished and cut in their own country and are environmentally friendly and practice fair labor laws.

In 2003, the Kimberly Process was introduced to help buyers know that the diamonds they are buying are conflict free. With these diamonds you should expect your diamond retailer to provide you with a written guarantee on your diamond purchase. This written form should indicate that the diamond you purchased has conflict free status.

The retailer should also adopt a code of conduct that prevents them from purchasing conflict diamonds. When walking into a retailer, there should be a store policy available for public view that guarantees that they do not buy or sell conflict diamonds. If you do not see this store policy, ask for it, as they may have a written form either online or on a printed document. If the retailer does not have this, beware as chances are, they are not a conflict free retailer.

Lastly, determine if your diamond has a serial number. Conflict free diamonds should have a serial number so that they can be easily tracked through the process of being mined, cut and polished, which should all take place in the same region. The serial number will indicate where the diamond has been and also ensure that the places where the diamond was mined, cut and polished adhere to labor law practices.

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Back in 1867, a 15 year-old boy named Stephanus Erasmus Jacobs found a small, white pebble on the ground in an area which is now known as South Africa. After playing with this small pebble for quite some time, the boy turned the pretty stone over to his neighbor, Schalk van Niekerk, who was known for collecting unique stones. The neighbor was unsure of what this stone was, so he turned it into a traveling peddler named John O‘Reilly. The peddler showed it to his friend, a magistrate named Lourenzo Boyes, who in turn saw that this mysterious pebble could etch glass. The stone was declared a diamond and was showcased at the World’s Fair.

Although there was some controversy surrounding the finding of this diamond, the story gained more validation when another large diamond was found in the same spot. It was then that South Africa became a central location for mining for diamonds. As diamonds grew in worth and value, mining became more dangerous and life threatening. There were many groups of people that were trying to gain control of the land and something that was supposed to grant the people of South Africa prosperity and wealth, instead brought bloodshed, mutilation and death.

During the 1930’s when the Great Depression hit, the market of diamonds was challenged. It was then that the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever” was created, which meant that in order to have true meaning, a diamond should be untouched by any other woman, thus preventing secondary markets. Out of this grew blood diamonds, which are diamonds that are mined and sold by terrorist groups and rebel armies. The money gained is to fund weapons to attack against the government. The countries where blood diamonds are found include Sierra Leone, Angola and The Congo.

Perhaps the worst of the bloodshed came in the 1990s when people were allowed to vote in order to cease the guerilla warfare that was taking place. To vote, people had to use their thumbprint and to avoid them from doing so, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) mutilated people’s hands and arms. In 2000, heads from these diamond states met with one another to stop the selling of blood diamonds. Through this, the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme was born, which makes selling these blood diamonds illegal.

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