Jadorie 1

Melina Jadorie
HELA II
Rager-3
20 February 2015
Diamonds are Forever, or Nah?
Globally, diamonds are seen as a symbol of wealth, power, success, and beauty.
Diamonds are typically worn on women who are engaged and about to be married. But
what people do not think about where their diamonds came from and the history behind
them. What many do not know is that their diamonds that represent love sometimes
happen to be blood diamonds. Blood diamonds should be banned for export by the
United Nations from countries where there are conflicts occurring because they cause
abuse of workers in the mines, finance war lords, and the Kimberley Process has failed its
purpose.
Blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds, are defined as stones that have been mined
in war zone and fund military action of rebels or groups against governments. In Africa,
there are many workers who are being abused by soldiers in the army in search for the
gems. The workers, sometimes children, work long hours and under horrible conditions.
In Zimbabwe, where blood diamonds is especially an issue, are where some of the most
inadequate problems are. Soldiers have been treating many people inhumanely. One
report says, More than 100 witnesses, miners, police officers, soldiers and children were
interviewed for the Human Rights Watch report titled Diamonds in the Rough. It details
allegations of human-rights abuses by Zimbabwean armed forces in their attempt to
control access to the precious gems (Jacobson A.4). The conditions being worked in are

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also very unsanitary, As noted by the Diamond Development Initiative, many of these
middlemen, and almost all of the exporters that reap the greatest profits, are foreign
nationals--resulting the concentration of profits among a group of people who reinvest
very little in the industry or in the country (Parmar and Wells 45.1). The treatment of
diamond miners and the horrendous conditions they were forced to work in was one of
the reasons why the UN should ban blood diamonds.
Another reason why blood diamonds are an issue is because they are financing
insurgency and warlords activities. One of the many reasons why diamonds are able to
finance rebel forces is because several members of government in Africa are corrupted
and so is the government itself. In her article, Charlotte McDonald-Gibson writes, A
PAC report last year alleged that up to $2bn in diamond revenue had gone missing in four
years, the result of smuggling, undervaluation of stones leaving the country and a "high
level of collusion" by government officials (McDonald-Gibson 25). Many of the
warlords in Africa used the diamond mines as a way to increase their personal wealth
and power. McDonald-Gibson also states in the article, Right from the beginning the
Revolutionary United Front, insurgents allegedly backed by Charles Taylor, a Liberian
warlord later to become the countrys leader, based their violent strategy on seizing
control of Sierra Leones diamond mines (McDonald-Gibson 25).
The Kimberley Process was introduced to stop the flow of illicit diamonds and
regulate diamond trade as well as mining. Critics of banning blood diamonds sales say
that the Kimberley Process is effective at stopping the sale of blood diamonds but it has
not actually affected the sales at all. Laura Seay, a professor at Morehouse College, was
quoted in an article saying, One of the positive effects of the Kimberley Process, Ms.

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Seay adds, is that it did manage to raise awareness among consumers about where
diamonds often come from, and how to avoid funding conflicts with ones spending
habits. If Rapaport can be successful in raising awareness about Zimbabwe diamonds,
then it could be effective. And it could push the Kimberley Process to look more broadly
at other human rights abuses (Scott Baldauf). Though the KP has much to be proud of,
a critical touchstone, its definition of a "conflict diamond", no longer meets today's
challenges. It does not adequately address rough diamonds linked to other types of
conflicts. Failing KP action, some countries or some elements of the diamond industry
may move to independently address evolving consumer expectations, (Milovanovic).
To conclude, although diamonds are an expensive luxury item, they have an
extensive history behind them. There have been efforts made to make sure that diamonds
are conflict-free but there is plenty of corruption in the African governments and it is very
hard to make sure all diamonds are not blood diamonds. The Kimberley Process has
failed, warlords and rebel groups are being funded through the sale of blood diamonds,
and many workers in the mines are suffering from inhumane abuse from soldiers so the
UN should put a ban on diamonds from areas of conflict.

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Works Cited
Baldauf, Scott. "Zimbabwe Diamond Ban: Will It Work?." Christian Science Monitor. 17
Aug. 2010: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Jacobson, Celean. "Abuse in Zimbabwe Diamond Fields?." Deseret News. 27 Jun. 2009: A. 4.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. "The Flawed Diamond Sale." The Independent. 16 Dec. 2013:
25. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Milovanovic, Gillian A. "Time to Make Clear What Defines a Conflict Diamond." Business
Times (Singapore). 09 Oct. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20 Feb. 2015
Parmar, Sharanjeet, and Matthew Wells. "Child Miners Struggle to Survive." National
Catholic Reporter Vol. 45, No. 1. 31 Oct. 2008: p. 12+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 20
Feb. 2015.