The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the 20th–21st century civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau have been given the label.
In particular, diamonds in West Africa have been used for the last 30 or so years to fund rebel groups and their desire to take control of their nations by violence and intimidation. In such conflicted regions of the world, diamonds lose their connotation of beauty and elegance and are in stead stained with blood.
In 1930, a British geologist discovered diamonds in the region. The gems became one of the greatest sources of Sierra Leone's future conflict, earning them the name “Blood Diamonds.” British companies and other foreign merchants quickly seized control of diamond mines to profit from the newfound market.
An international governmental certification scheme, known as the Kimberley Process, was set up to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds.
Fueling Civil Wars
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, Côte d'Ivoire, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Out of curiosity, 16-year-old miner Komba Johnbull picked it up and fingered its flat, pyramidal planes. Johnbull had never seen a diamond before, but he knew enough to understand that even a big find would be no larger than his thumbnail.
Treated red diamonds
Worth about 80,000$, a natural one would have been estimated at over $15m.
Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. The film portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels' amputation of people's hands to stop them from voting in upcoming elections.
In the last decade, blood diamonds have been virtually eliminated from the global marketplace. Stricter regulation, as well as a renewed commitment from diamond manufacturers and retailers to work only with ethical suppliers, has transformed the global diamond industry for the better.
It's very much a "message" movie, with many scenes showing us how children are doped and brainwashed into being the cannon fodder of Africa's civil wars; and a subplot about how the First World's thirst for diamonds and other natural resources is feeding these conflicts.
Violence. Even though many brutal civil wars have now ended, violence in diamond mines remains a serious problem. Many diamonds are still stained by severe human rights abuses such as forced labor, beatings, torture, and murder.
On January 18, 2001, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 13194 which prohibited the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone into the United States in accordance with the UN resolutions.
Diamonds that are not conflict-free are known as blood diamonds, which means they are illegally sold in order to finance devastating wars and terrorism.
Diamonds in Africa were formed somewhere between 600 million and 3 billion years ago when titanic-force pressure and heat caused carbon 1,200 miles (1,931 km) below the Earth's surface to crystallize. As recently as a million years ago, erupting molten rock brought the diamonds closer to the Earth's surface.
According to the International Diamond Council, which promotes the commercial diamond trade, "blood" or "conflict" diamonds are unlawfully traded to finance conflict in regions ripped apart by war, mainly in western and central Africa.
The flow of Conflict Diamonds has originated mainly from Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. The United Nations and other groups are working to block the entry of conflict diamonds into the worldwide diamond trade.
Who has worn the Tiffany blood diamond? Throughout such an expansive history in the public eye, the diamond has only been worn by four famous women — Audrey Hepburn, American socialite Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé Knowles.
Tiffany & Co. only offers conflict-free diamonds. We have taken rigorous steps to assure that conflict diamonds do not enter our inventory. As global leaders in sustainable luxury, Tiffany & Co. is committed to sourcing natural and precious materials in an ethical and sustainable manner.
These children work for $2 a day in order to purchase their clothing and learning materials. Some young men reported receiving bonded work to mine diamonds, meaning they were reimbursed for their labors with housing, but not money.
A U.N. panel of experts estimates that 140,000 carats of diamonds—with a retail value of $24 million—have been smuggled out of the country since it was suspended in May 2013.
The Costs of Conflict Diamonds:
The war between 1991 and 1999 claimed over 75,000 lives, caused 500,000 Sierra Leoneans to become refugees, and displaced half of the countries 4.5 million people[6].
blood diamond, also called conflict diamond, as defined by the United Nations (UN), any diamond that is mined in areas controlled by forces opposed to the legitimate, internationally recognized government of a country and that is sold to fund military action against that government.
Q. Who profits from blood diamonds? A. Rebel movements and corrupt governments trade the diamonds, and use the profits to support their causes.
EZ: One of my consultants said that he dedicated himself to doing this movie because he felt that in Sierra Leone, they had not yet forgiven the children. He felt theres no understanding and very little reintegration of the children into society.
Van de Kaap Limited
Van de Kaap(“VDK”) is a global asset management and investment house for rare diamonds and gemstones. Our mission is to transform rare diamonds and gem stones into a real investable financial asset class by providing liquidity and pricing transparency to the diamond market.