What are Conflict Diamonds & How to Avoid Them

Conflict diamonds represent a group of diamonds that originate from a territory that is undergoing intense conflict and war. These stones have also been referenced as blood diamonds, war diamonds, and hot diamonds, and the proceeds from the sale of these stones help fund further conflict and bloodshed at the hands of some vicious warlords. The picture these diamonds paint is not a pretty one, as evidenced in the 2006 movie Blood Diamond.








Proof that diamond trading was helping fund violence and various human rights violations surfaced in the late 1990s which launched a global conversation discussing how such acts could be prevented. In 2000, the United Nations Security Counsel met in Kimberley, South Africa with the hopes of holding diamond traders accountable and creating a paper trail of each diamond so consumers could be certain their diamond did not promote further violence. After two years of negotiations and talks between governments, the World Diamond Council and the United Nations drafted and approved the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) which was an international declaration that would require proper authentication of all diamonds being imported into any country and also penalize anyone caught trafficking conflict diamonds or diamonds without the proper certification.



Does the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme Work?
The Kimberly Process is headed by African countries that have large and legitimate diamond trades. Despite efforts to help other developing countries in Africa benefit from a legal and clean global diamond trade, the KPCS has unfortunately been unable to completely stop the flow of conflict diamonds from infiltrating the legitimate diamond trade. Due to corruption within certain governments, some have argued that it's impossible to prove that a diamond with a Kimberley Certification is in fact conflict free. Bribes have been made, and laws have been broken. Also, in order for the KPCS to work, all countries would have to comply with the record keeping required, and countries like Venezuela have failed to follow these requirements, leading to gaps in determining the exact origin of certain diamonds.
Not only are there flaws in the existing system, the KPCS only defines a conflict diamond as a stone that helps finance a war. However, what about diamonds that are a further product of a corrupt government that has a high poverty rate, low wages, various human rights violations, and poor environmental standards? The KPCS does not protect the consumer against this type of diamond trading.