BLOODY DIAMONDS FROM AFRICA
What You Can do to Avoid Buying a Conflict Diamond
What are conflict diamonds, sometimes called blood diamonds?Conflict diamonds, sometimes called blood diamonds, are diamonds that are sold to fund the unlawful and illegal operations of rebel, military and terrorist groups. Countries that have been most affected by conflict diamonds are Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- all places where citizens have been terrorized, mutilated and killed by groups in control of the local diamond trade.
Wars in most of those areas have ended or at least decreased in intensity, but conflict diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire, in West Africa, and Liberia are still reaching the trade labeled as conflict-free diamonds.
In 2000, South African countries with a legitimate diamond trade began a campaign to track the origins of all rough diamonds, attempting to put a stop to blood diamond sales from known conflict areas. Their efforts eventually resulted in The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), an international effort to rid the world of conflict diamonds.
What are conflict diamonds, sometimes called blood diamonds?Conflict diamonds, sometimes called blood diamonds, are diamonds that are sold to fund the unlawful and illegal operations of rebel, military and terrorist groups. Countries that have been most affected by conflict diamonds are Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- all places where citizens have been terrorized, mutilated and killed by groups in control of the local diamond trade.
Wars in most of those areas have ended or at least decreased in intensity, but conflict diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire, in West Africa, and Liberia are still reaching the trade labeled as conflict-free diamonds.
In 2000, South African countries with a legitimate diamond trade began a campaign to track the origins of all rough diamonds, attempting to put a stop to blood diamond sales from known conflict areas. Their efforts eventually resulted in The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), an international effort to rid the world of conflict diamonds.
posted by Foch at 5:08 PM
