Blood Diamonds

Ashley York
Hooper 3

beginning sentences????

IV. Effects
Issues surrounding diamonds can be put into a few
categories; environmental effects, political effects,
and humanitarian effects.

Outline

Introduction:
I. Definition
A. Process
B. Stats
II. Who is involved
A. Military groups
B. Sierra Leone
C. Countries
Iii. Effects
A. Political
B. Environmental
a. laws
C. Humanitarian
Conclusion:

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IA
conflict and exploitation have surrounded nearly every
step of diamond production, from the mine to the
jewelry store. (Forman, 7)

This explains that the diamonds are always surrounded

by chaos, in a way, because they are surrounded by
conflict from the time they are taken out of the earth
to the diamond ring or necklace it becomes.

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IIA

Forman, 8

in some war-torn countries, the precious stones have

funded rebellious military groups (Forman, 8)

these groups have forced people to work in their

mines.
they have murdered, tortured, and committed other
atrocities
Military groups have been funded by these diamonds.
These military groups have forced people to work in
their mines, and have murdered and tortured.

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IVB

environmental problems occur wherever people romove

diamonds from nature (Forman, 10)
Mining technology has advanced over time. Because of
this, mining has become less detrimental to the
environment.
Diamond mining is also destructive to rivers and
streams.

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IVC
Many of the humanitarian problems have been happening
in Africa (Forley, 9)
Workers who mine the diamonds live in inadequate
conditions. They receive meager pay for their
arduous labor.

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IIC
Central African Republic (Flanagin, web);
This is important because the CAR is one of the
countries affected by conflict diamond mining.

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IIA

Slka; Muslim rebels

Christian/animist anti-balaka militia
(in CAR) (Flanagin, web)

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IB
only 5-10% of the diamonds in the world are illegally
traded at present
25% in 2003
(Baker, web)

This is important because it shows a statistic of how

many diamonds are illegally traded .

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I

Conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, are mined in African war zones
usually by forced labor and are used to finance rebellions.
(Baker, web)
This is imp. Because it is the definition of blood diamonds.

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IIC

In just the past two decades, seven African countries

have endured brutal civil conflicts fueled by diamonds:
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the Republic of Congo,
Cte dIvoire, the Central African Republic, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Diamonds intensify civil
wars by financing militaries and rebel militias.
(Brilliant Earth)
This is important because it tells the countries
affected by civil war and diamonds.

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I
Diamonds that fuel civil wars are often called blood
or conflict diamonds.
(Brilliant Earth)

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IB
Thousands of people have died and more than a million
have been displaced. In addition, past wars fueled by
diamonds have taken about 3.7 million lives.
(Brilliant Earth)

Important because statistic of death

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IIB

Sierra Leones war over conflict diamonds began in

March 1991
(Brown, web)

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I
Diamonds from countries such as the Central African
Republic are often called Blood Diamonds because
profits from the sale of them are used to purchase
weapons used on conflicts there and in other nearby
countries. (Keefe, web)

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I
In fact, these beautiful minerals allow military to
purchase murder weapons. These weapons, used by
militias, result in mass rape, complete control of
communities and torture. (Keefe, web)

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IIB
Early in 1992, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.),
a ruthless rebel group seized Kono, the diamond mining
capital of Sierra Leone.

(Brown, web)

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IIB
In an effort to stabilize the region and restore
democratic civilian rule, the National Provisional
Ruling Council (N.P.R.C.) became engaged in a war with
R.U.F. rebels.
(Brown, web)

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IIA?
Rival groups also fight with each other to control
diamond-rich territory. The tragic result is bloodshed,
loss of life, and shocking human rights abuses from
rape to the use of child soldiers. (Brilliant Earth)

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Humanitarian issue
Not long ago, the public started to become aware that
large numbers of diamonds are mined in violent and
inhumane settings.
(Brilliant Earth)

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I
Diamonds with violent histories are still being mined
and allowed to enter the diamond supply, where they
become indistinguishable from other gems. Violence and
injustice remain an everyday aspect of diamond mining.
(Brilliant Earth)

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Millions of people are still dealing with the

consequences of these wars: friends and family members
lost, lives shattered, and physical and emotional scars
that will last generations.
(brilliant earth)

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Conflict or "blood" diamonds are illegally traded to

fund conflict in war-torn areas, particularly in
central and western Africa, according to the World
Diamond council, which represents the commercial
diamond trade. (What are conflict diamonds?)

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Apart from the innocent people caught up in the

conflicts that the trade fuels, thousands of men, women
and children in countries such as Sierra Leone are used
as slaves to extract diamonds. They are often forced to
use primitive, back-breaking methods such as digging
into mud or gravel along river banks with their bare
hands. The collected material is then separated using
hand-held sieves.
(What are conflict diamonds)

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The Kimberley Process started when Southern African

diamond-producing states met in Kimberley, South
Africa, in May 2000, to discuss ways to stop the trade
in conflict diamonds and ensure that diamond purchases
were not funding violence.

(What are conflict diamonds)

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The result was an agreement by the United Nations,

European Union, the governments of 74 countries, the
World Diamond Council -- representing the industry -and a number of interest groups such as Global Witness.

(What are conflict diamonds)

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They established the Kimberley Process Certification

Scheme (KPCS), whereby members are required to certify
that all rough diamond exports are produced through
legitimate mining and sales activities and are
"conflict-free."

(What are conflict diamonds)

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Each shipment carries a certificate that details where

the diamonds came from, how they were mined, where they
were cut and polished, the parties involved, and their
ultimate destination. The idea is that members of the
Kimberley Process cannot trade with non-members.

(What are conflict diamonds)

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According to Amy Barry of Global Witness, the Kimberley

Process has yet to demonstrate itself capable of
stopping the trade because of a lack of political will
among member states.

(What are conflict diamonds)

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In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly

adopted a landmark resolution supporting the creation
of an international certification scheme for rough
diamonds. By November 2002, negotiations between
governments, the international diamond industry and
civil society organisations resulted in the creation of
the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) . The
KPCS document sets out the requirements for controlling
rough diamond production and trade. The KPCS entered
into force in 2003, when participating countries
started to implement its rules.

(Kimberley Process)

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the Kimberley Process (KP) is open to all countries

that are willing and able to implement its
requirements. The KP has 54 participants, representing
81 countries, with the European Union and its Member
States counting as a single participant.

(Kimberley Process)

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In conjunction with the KPCS agreement, the U.S.

Congress enacted the Clean Diamond Trade Act, which was
signed into law (Public Law 108-29) by President Bush
on April 25, 2003. This legislation incorporated the
Kimberley Process into U.S. law by directing the
President to prohibit the import or export of any rough
diamond that has not been controlled through the KPCS.
(Anderson)

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For example, in Sierra Leone a group known as the

Revolutionary United Front killed, threatened, and even
cut off the arms of people living and working in
diamond villages until they were able to take control
of the mines in the area.