Blood+Diamonds

Overview
Conflict, or blood diamonds gleam just as brightly as their socially and environmentally responsible counterparts, however, they are tarnished by hardship suffered by their miners. The United Nations defines conflict diamonds as “diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council”. Therefore, conflict diamonds are those which fund and encourage illegal and terrorist movements and civil wars within a region. Since 2003, the trade and consumption of conflict diamonds has been greatly reduced under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. African Blood diamonds originate from Angola, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and The Congo. These diamonds are harvested by groups who are in opposition of the government, known as rebel armies, in order to purchase weapons with intentions to use them to see to the downfall of internationally legitimate governments. The harvest of Blood Diamonds violates human rights, communities, children, the environment and the labour force. Miners are subject to low wages, inhumane living and working conditions, and possible amputation of limbs and death. It is reported that miners are paid less than $1 USD a day, and are mutilated or even murdered for under-productivity.

[[image:http://www.un.org/peace/africa/photos/withouthandscopy.gif width="212" height="329" align="right" caption="17 year old with palms amputated by rebels. Photo Credit: Unicef, Giacomo Pirozzi"]]
Dams, constructed to store leftovers which contain cyanide as well as other toxins, are constructed over the years, and often contain unsound foundations. In 2000, A dam failure in Romania led to the seepage of more than 100,000 gallons of toxins and wastes into the Tizia River, which in turn killed over 1000 tonnes of fish and also contaminated potable water for more than 2 million people. Conflict diamond harvesting occurs in South America,

The underground Blood diamond industry surfaced across the world after a savage civil war broke out in Angola in the late 1990s. At this time, it was estimated that 4% of the worlds' diamonds were being harvested in conflict. Fortunately, under The Kimberley Process, diamonds harvested in conflict has been reduced to less than 1%.

The Kimberley Process
Introduced by the United Nations, The Kimberley Process was designed in order to ensure that diamonds being traded were free of conflict. Under the Kimberley Process, shipments of diamonds can only be performed within participant countries. Presently, there are 74 governments are partnered with and 99% of diamond production is done under the Kimberley Process.



Requirements of the KimberleyProcess > must be transported in a tamper-resistant container and accompanied by a government-validated Kimberley Process Certificate.
 * Shipments of rough diamonds crossing international borders
 * Certificates must be forgery-resistant with a unique number and a description of the contents of the shipment.
 * Failure to comply with the regulations lead to the removal of the country.
 * Any concerns must be investigated and dealt with by the WTO

Conflict Diamonds in Popular Culture
The effects and events that transpire as a result of the harvesting of conflict diamonds has spurred a lot of media attention. In 2006, Blood Diamond, a major motion picture which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou ranked #5 in the Box Office. Numerous documentaries have been made to shed light on conflict diamonds including VH1 Roc Docs: Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds and Hip Hop and Blood Diamonds by The History Channel. This issue has also inspired performers such as [|Lupe Fiasco],[|Kanye West] and [|Talib Kweli] have raised awareness through their music.


 * Lupe Fiasco - Conflict Diamonds**

//Allow me to break down the game//    //behind the bracelets, earrings, chains, watches and rings//    //The bling//   //the crystal incrusted, princess flooded//   //canary studded, blue colored and blood stained//   //Yeah, the older brother of the drug game//   //the giver of fame, the take awayer of lame//  **Kanye West - Diamonds from Sierra Leone** // Though it's thousands of miles away //  // Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today //  // Over here, it's a drug trade, we die from drugs //  // Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs //  // The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charms's //  // I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless //  // 'til I seen a picture of a shorty armless //  // And here's the conflict //  // It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold //    **Talib Kweli - Going Hard** People ask me how we wearing diamonds When there's little kids in Sierra Leone Losing arms for crying while they mining Probably an orphan who's momma died of AIDS He built a coffin working often but he never paid

All these songs try to shed light on the beginnings of conflict diamonds and the irony of the fact that diamonds are a symbol of wealth, power, distinction and sophistication. Additionally, these songs fall in the genre of hip-hop, whose performers were usually known for wearing large jewelry pieces encrusted in diamonds. While still prevalent among hip-hop and rap artistes, the number of performers who wear diamonds has greatly decreased since conflict diamonds became known worldwide.

Conclusion
The Blood diamond is still a hot topic and a lot has been done to regulate diamond trade and greatly reduce the harvest of diamonds in conflict. Although millions of lives were lost and many were amputated, there is still hope for the future. Hopefully as consumers, we will one day help rebuild the countries affected by conflict diamond trade through the Kimberley Process.