Blood diamonds
April 8, 2005By Cristina Fernández Pereda
Diamonds have become a symbol of love. According to Amnesty International, few customers can be guaranteed that their precious stone has been obtained legally.
According to a report from the organization, only 37% of the companies contacted could guarantee that they obtained their diamonds without violating human rights. This report was published two years after the diamond sector created regulations to prevent the trade in conflict zones.
Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leona and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are all diamond exporters. They are also among the poorest countries in the world. The wealth of their soil has become one of the causes of poverty for their nations. The millions of dollars that the illicit diamond trade produces fall in the hands of guerrillas. They evade the embargos imposed by the international community by exchanging diamonds for arms.
This funding source has helped to prolong many conflicts in these countries. The production of diamond has not saved 90% of the Angolan population from poverty. There, a diamond sells for 20 dollars at a local agency. Afterwards, as the stone passes from owner to owner its value increases until it reaches European or American hands. In the last phase of the process, the diamond could cost up to $2000. In the end, the figures increase: in one year Liberia exported diamonds that cost up to $300 million.
The diamond trade requires a group of countries that buy, sell or exchange arms for the precious gems. A United Nations report about the causes of the war in Angola listed diamond traders in Johannesburg, Dubai, and Ambers. They also reported Bulgaria and the Ukraine as exporters of arms to countries at war. The final sale is concentrated in Europe. Two-thirds of the world’s diamonds are sold in Ambers, Belgium.
The sale of illegal diamonds is favored by the control mechanisms and insufficient legislation. They do not make the detectors in the airports and they are easily exchanged for cash. Many international organizations have asked for measures that guarantee the legality of the diamonds sold in Europe. Measures that guarantee the diamonds were obtained without violations of any human rights.
The petitions from different organizations such as Amnesty International collide with other interests. The implementation of stricter laws would jeopardize a $50,000 million trade. Although 10% of that money finances armed conflicts, no one wants to lose money simply because diamonds are associated with war.
The diamond consumers should ask for legal guarantees before buying. These demands would help enforce the international legislations. This way diamonds would be controlled from the moment of extraction until they arrive at their final destination.
Regulatory measures that guarantee that diamonds follow the legal path would lead to a decrease amount of funds that finance armed conflicts in the world. There would be no more war diamonds.
