--Conflict Diamonds--

In continuation of my last post, I'm going to blog a little bit about Conflict Diamonds.

Conflict Diamonds, are illegitimate diamonds that come from areas where the mining process is not controlled. Furthermore, the revenue made by the sale of these diamonds are used to fund wars against the local government. This is exactly what was portrayed in the movie Blood Diamond. Illegitimate forces recruit and force men to mine and dig up these diamonds, and of course there is no paycheque. As you can see, many people who are aware of this topic avoid the purchase of these stones, which indirectly funds the warfare and the continuity of this practice. There are many, many people affected by this and poor innocent villagers who are forced away from their family to help the these illegitimate organizations mine the stones. Because there is absolutely no process, injuries and deaths are extremely common from the mining process.

All of these conflict diamonds are mined in different parts of Africa, with Angola, Sierre Leone, Liberia being the main countries. The Civil wars that constantly plagued these countries are heavily funded by these Conflict Diamonds.

UN and the diamond industry have stepped in to attempt to put a stop on the sales of Conflict Diamonds. The Kimberley Process, introduced in May 2000, is a huge step in controlling and eliminating the sales of Conflict Diamonds.

At the end of the day, it is up to the individual's conscience to decide if they will avoid the purchase of a diamond with unknown origins. Sometimes (although rarely), unknown origins does not automatically make the diamond a blood diamond. For the reason of it being illegitimate and exported from war zones, blood diamonds sell for a lower price than legitimate diamonds mined in controlled mines by legitimate organizations.