Blood Diamonds

In the late 1990's the destruction and violence caused by the sale of blood diamonds from war torn countries was finally recognized by the diamond industry and countries which imported or exported diamonds.

Thanks to new legislation the amount of these diamonds in today's market has substantially decreased, but consumers still need to take action to ensure they are buying conflict-free diamonds.

Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are diamonds whose sales are used to fund conflicts, wars, and warlord activities; Africa has been the hardest hit nation, and it is estimated that millions of people have suffered, been displaced, and countless others killed, due to illegal diamond activities.

Currently, investigations are also pending to see if these diamonds have been used to fund terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.

In the past decade, regulations have been passed to reduce and eliminate the spread of blood diamonds:

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was approved by the United Nations on March 13, 2002. This certification scheme was developed in part by southern African nations to stop the spread of illegal diamond sales.

Participating KPCS member countries must monitor the flow and sales of rough diamonds in their countries, and adhere to regulations in order to label their diamonds as conflict-free.

While the KPCS has helped to reduce illegal diamond sales, stricter regulations and monitoring are needed to completely eliminate illegal diamond trades. Currently any country can join the KPCS, and due to an absence of outside monitoring these countries may or may not adhere to KPCS standards.

In July 2000 the World Diamond Council was formed; this organization was created by members of the diamond industry to help create a tracking system for the export and importation of rough diamonds in order to prevent illegal diamonds from finding their way into legitimate diamond trades.

In December 2002, Canada passed the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act which supported KPCS policies.

In the United States, the Clean Diamond Trade Act was passed in April 2003 which enacted KPCS policies in the United States.

For a list of countries which are current members of the KPCS, and countries which have been suspended from the KPCS, click on this World Diamond Council link.

While these regulations have helped to stem the flow of blood diamonds into the diamond trade industry, it is estimated that anywhere from 1 - 15% of all diamonds sold today come from illegal sources.

As a consumer, you can help to stop this trade by asking potential sellers the following questions:

Where do your diamonds come from?

Do you have a company policy on conflict diamonds, and can I have a copy of this policy?

Can you provide a written guarantee that your diamonds are conflict-free diamonds?

If the seller cannot answer these questions, go somewhere else. There are plenty of retailers who back KPCS policy and who have a no tolerance view towards conflict diamonds.

If you want to make sure, 100%, that the diamonds you buy are not part of an illegal diamond trade, purchase diamonds which have been mined from a 100% conflict free area such as Canada or Australia, or consider buying man-made diamonds.

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