Commodity Online
In diamond industry, blood diamond — aka converted diamond, conflict diamond, hot diamond or a war diamond — refers to a diamond mined in a war zone, usually in Africa, and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army’s war efforts, or a warlord’s activity. But the word has never been so popular till the release of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Hollywood movie ‘Blood Diamond’ in 2006. After the movie became a box office hit across the world, it hit the diamond industry hard. Diamond buyers started looking at the sparklers with suspicious eyes. Global Witness is an NGO that exposes the corrupt exploitation of natural resources and international trade systems, to drive campaigns that end impunity, resource linked conflict, and human rights and environmental abuses. Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness who helped the film makers of Blood Diamond in its research shares her experience in situation now which she believes have improved drastically.
Q: How serious was the conflict diamonds issue before the release of ‘Blood Diamond’?
A: The issue of conflict diamonds received international attention long before ‘Blood Diamond’ was released. During the 1990’s civil conflicts funded and fuelled by diamonds led to millions of people killed and displaced in Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire. Global Witness launched an international campaign against the trade in conflict diamonds in 1998, which placed the issue of diamonds funding war in the media spotlight and on the international agenda. Within a few years, the Kimberley Process rough diamond certification scheme was being negotiated by governments, civil society and the diamond industry.
WHATEVER THE CONFLICTS MAY BE, YOU CAN GET LIVE PRICES OF COMMODITY FUTURES HERE. EXPLORE NOW
Q: The Kimberly Process Certificate System is said to be a success though some claim certificates are issued freely without any verification? How far is this true?
A: The Kimberley Process (or KP) is a government-run import export certification scheme, and was launched in 2003. Its very existence is a positive step as it has led to increased regulation of the international diamond trade, and more diamonds going through legitimate channels and bringing revenue to producing countries. However, the KP still suffers from major loopholes which mean that conflict diamonds are still being traded, cut and polished, and are still reaching consumers worldwide. There have been reports of certificates being sold by corrupt government officials, and used for goods that do not go through official channels.
Q: For a diamond polishing unit or for a buyer there is no way to determine whether the diamonds are of conflict nature. What is your suggestion?
A: Every actor along the diamond chain — from mine to retail — has responsibility for whether they are dealing in conflict diamonds or not. Manufacturing companies and trading companies must ensure that they are sourcing their diamonds responsibly — it is absolutely unacceptable for members of the diamond industry further up the chain to claim that the problem is not under their control. Diamond manufacturing countries that participate in the KP must ensure that their controls are strong enough not to let conflict or illicit diamonds into their system. The manufacturing industry has a responsibility to know where their diamonds are coming from.
Q: How many conflict diamonds enter the market? Where do they go for processing?
A: Thankfully, conflict diamonds today represent a very small percentage of rough diamonds traded globally because most of the wars that were funded by diamonds in the 1990s have ended. However, conflict diamonds are still mined and smuggled out of Ivory Coast in West Africa, where they support the activities of a rebel group called the Forces Nouvelles. The United Nations reports that these diamonds may be worth around $23 million per year — this is very little compared with the billions generated by the diamond trade worldwide, but it does not take very much money to purchase weapons and wreak havoc on a population in a conflict situation. The fact that these conflict diamonds are reaching consumers — in spite of the Kimberley Process — means that there is still serious work to do to strengthen controls on the diamond industry. It’s impossible to say for sure where conflict diamonds from Ivory Coast are polished, but over 99% of the world’s diamonds are manufactured in India, particularly small stones such as the ones produced in Ivory Coast.
