Diamonds from Conflict Zones - Essay Example

? Conflict diamonds Introduction In the past years, devastating civil wars in Africa have been funded with the help of some diamonds, thus destroying the lives of millions. Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. Profits from the trade in conflict diamonds, worth billions of dollars, during the devastating wars in Angola, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone. Wars that have taken an estimated 3.7 million lives over the years (Gooch, 2008). Though the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away as yet. Diamonds mined in certain rebel-held areas in a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, Cote D'Ivoire, are reaching the international diamond market. Conflict diamonds are also being smuggled into neighboring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade from Liberia. A major milestone occurred in 2003, a government-run initiative was introduced to stem the flow of conflict diamonds known as the Kimberley process. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes requirements on participants to certify and ensure that shipments and selling of rough diamonds are conflict-free. The Amnesty International USA announced its support of the film production of Blood Diamond. Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone. It tells the story of two African men whose fates become involved in a quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives entirely. The film’s curriculum guide help us survey diamond retailers despite its pledge to support the Kimberley Process and the clean Diamond Trade Act. The Diamond Industry has failed to implement the necessary policies for self-regulation. In particular, the retail sector fails to provide sufficient assurance to consumers that the diamonds they sell are conflict-free. That is why help is needed to find out how policies are being communicated at the shop level and what actions are being taken to ensure that policies are more than just rhetoric and no action. At the same time, a strong message will be sent to local jewelers that their role in diamond fueled conflict must end (Levy, 2003). Literature review Conflict diamonds, are sold to fund hostile warfare; this process mainly exists in central and western Africa. The issue of conflict diamonds first gained global exposure in the late 1990s throughout Sierra Leone’s civil war. This brutal nine year battle was due to the desire of insurgents to control the local diamond mines as a means of wealth to help fund the war, amongst other reasons. Since then, the issue of conflict diamonds has been globally recognized and several measures have been taken to ensure the ethically sound sourcing of diamonds, boycotting the countries that sell conflict diamonds and adhering to the standards of the Kimberley Process and the Patriot Act. The Kimberley Process is an initiative that was launched in conjunction with the United Nations and the global gemstone industry to ensure the market is free of conflict diamonds. The process aims to do this by enforcing all gemstone traders and suppliers to follow a single legitimate procedure that focuses on the ethical and environmentally sound sourcing of diamonds. Since its inception in 2002 the amount of conflict diamonds in the gemstone industry has decreased dramatically from 15% to less than 1% and now today, 99.8% of the world’s diamond distributors adhere to the Kimberley process. The Patriot Act is an American law that was passed in response to the September eleventh (9/11) terrorist attacks and grants US officials more power to monitor communications and trade between countries. The prevention of laundering of money and high value gems is among the Act’s objectives. According to (Le Billon, 2006), There was a waged insurrection that ravaged the tiny West African nation of Sierra Leone by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) from 1991–2002. The conflict completely destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and created over 2 million refugees. Initially, the RUF appeared to be fighting for the country's rural power, but it quickly lost sight of its founding goals and began a brutal war of terror against ordinary Sierra Leoneans. Villages were burned, women raped, and children gunned down. Many of those who were captured had their hands and feet hacked off with machetes. In all this, there were an estimated 100,000 victims of mutilation, and others were forced to work as slaves in the country's diamond mines. Diamonds were critical for the survival of the RUF, as they were traded for weapons. The bulk of the mined diamonds was smuggled out of the country through neighboring Liberia, where warlord and later president, Charles Taylor, supported the rebels. These diamonds (blood diamonds), or conflict diamonds, as diamonds mined in war zones and used to fund insurgencies are now called eventually found their way into markets around the world. Against this historical backdrop, Blood Diamond, set in Sierra Leone in 1999, tells the story of the intersecting lives of an Anglo ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, a fisherman from Sierra Leone, and an American reporter. It is assured that at Diamond Emporium they are committed to supplying only non-conflict diamonds and have rigorous procedures for verifying the legitimacy of their diamonds. They make sure that every diamond they stock has been mined and processed in an environmentally and socially conscious manner and they source only from suppliers who uphold the same values. With a continued commitment to supplying only diamonds in an ethical manner, Diamond Emporium adheres to and exceeds the regulations outlined in the Kimberley Process and Patriot Act. All programs that encourage the development and regulation of the diamond trade with a view to ridding the world of conflict diamonds are completely supported (United, 2003). . The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme basically provides a sort of passport for your diamond, letting the purchaser know the diamond's country of origin, the country of import, value, and total carats of each diamond shipment, and serial number. Unfortunately, according to a new recent piece in Foreign Policy, they're about as easy to fake as an old driver's license, rendering the process relatively useless — or at least, woefully lacking in credibility. This isn’t satisfactory, because it has become nearly impossible to tell the origins of some new demands on the market. Author Jason Miklian said that "about 25% of all diamonds now in the stores are blood diamonds, and nobody can tell the difference." It is estimated that more than 90% of the world's unpolished diamonds are now processed and polished in the Indian city of Surratt, were grossly underpaid workers and nearly nonexistent regulations ensure a "dream environment for the global diamond industry," where "deciphering clean diamonds from dirty ones becomes nearly impossible" (jezebel.com 2013) Strict regulation of the industry is the name of the game in old diamond capitals like Antwerp. However, Surratt is the new guard, a place where "gems are flown, freighted, and trucked in from Africa, Central Asia, and other mining spots to take advantage of India's cheap labor and no-questions-asked atmosphere." So not only are we are possibly funding conflict with every diamond we purchase, but we're also bankrolling an industry where workers are consistently abused and discarded (Bieri & Boli, 2011). At Brilliant Earth jewelry store, they go beyond the conflict-free standard to offer diamonds that are guaranteed and promised to be wholly free from ethical abuses to their customers. No other major jeweler can offer a comparable guarantee. Many of their diamonds are originally Canadian and are mined in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Canadian adheres to environmental laws and Canada’s strict labor, and these are some of the most rigorous in the world. They also offer Namibia, Botswana, and Russia’s broad selection of ethical origin diamonds. These diamonds meet the highest environmental standards and labor while contributing to the local economies of these countries Customers demonstrate their commitment to making a difference by choosing a “Brilliant Earth diamond”,. As part of their mission, is to donate 5% of their profits to directly benefit local African communities harmed and offended by the diamond industry. They have funded initiatives such as education for children who might otherwise be forced to work in diamond mines and medical care for people injured in Africa’s diamond wars. Rule concequentialism: is a moral theory that deserves a special mention as it promises to handle a number of objections to ultarianism. This means that the view of an action is morally right because it is required in a given society and it does not violate or go against obvious behaviors that are allowed in that particular community but rather have a positive outcome, therefore, there is no right to execute prisoners of war without a fair trial. This rule can also state that certain actions are simply forbidden, even if they will sometimes achieve very good results, for example, even if it would be optimific here and now to torture a prisoner, at the same time there may be an optimific rule that forbids political torture (Shaker-Landau, 2010). Conclusion Global Witness was among the first organizations to bring the problem of conflict diamonds to the world’s attention. Their report, released in 1998, exposed the role of diamonds in funding the civil war in Angola. This pushed the secretive practices of the global diamond industry into the spotlight for the first time. A crucial role was played in forcing governments and the diamond industry take action to eliminate conflict diamonds from the international trade by the gradual growth of international pressure from Global Witness and other organizations. However problems with the Kimberly Process scheme, failure to address major issues such as violence in Zimbabwe’s Marange area and a narrow definition of conflict and failure to address major issues such as violence in Zimbabwe’s Marange area, undermined the Kimberley Process’ credibility and effectiveness. Ten years down, and despite intensive efforts by a coalition of NGOs including Global Witness, the scheme’s major flaws, difficulties and loopholes have not been addressed and have not shown any interest. It has been claimed by experts that the illegal sale of blood diamonds has produced billions of dollars to fund civil wars and other conflicts in various African nations. This includes Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast. Most of the time, the people behind these civil wars and rebellions oppose true legitimate governments and desire control over the area's lucrative diamond industry. For instance in Sierra Leone, a group known as the Revolutionary United Front, threatened, killed and even cut off the arms of people living and working in diamond villages until they were able to control the mines in the area. The group moved on to the next village to do more of the same two people, effectively terrorizing the entirety of Sierra Leone to the point that many people fled their homes in fear and agony. After all that, roughly 20,000 innocent people suffered bodily mutilation, 75,000 were killed and 2 million fled Sierra Leone altogether. According to National Geographic News, all of these conflicts combined have led to the displacement of millions and resulted in the deaths of more than 4 million people over the years. In the 1990s, it was working for to be brought to human concern by the human rights organizations who worked to bring these tales of genocide and greed to the forefront. In response, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created in 2002 to regulate diamond trading and block blood diamonds from entering the legitimate diamond market. It was envisioned by the diamond industry to put the Kimberley process to be put into practice by the United Nations. According to De Beers, it has been stated that more than 70 countries participate in the Kimberley Process, which requires the governments in these countries to ensure that all diamond shipments are exported in secure containers for safety. In addition, to ensure no shipment contains conflict diamonds, each shipment must also have a specific numbered and government-validated certificate. The countries should be able to agree to refuse any diamond shipments with no presentation of an authentic Kimberley Process Certificate. Critics claim that the program doesn't prevent diamonds from being easily smuggled from war-torn countries to Kimberley Process countries and then qualify as legitimate. In fact, the United Nations and the United States government released reports early enough stating that roughly 23 million dollars worth of Ivory Coast diamonds were smuggled into trade and were distributed as legitimate ones. As much as Africa supplies about 60 % of the world's diamond supply, there are also alternative sources. It should be remembered that not all African diamond mines are corrupt. For instance, the African nation Botswana has been able to prosper thanks to a successful diamond mining industry. As recently as 1999, Botswana was considered the world's fastest-growing economy. Diamonds produce three-quarters of Botswana's export profits and 45% of the country's government revenue. Botswana has enjoyed a complete face from one of the world's poorest countries in 1966 to the world's most rapidly growing economy over the last 25 years Thanks to a legitimate diamond industry. The nature of diamonds and the operations of the international diamond industry create opportunities for illicit trade, including trade in conflict diamonds. Governments in affected countries such as Angola and Sierra Leone should be able to outlaw the trade of illicit diamonds and the exploitation of prisoners to achieve the implementation of this form of trade. References A Quarter of All Diamonds In Stores Are Blood Diamonds, and Nobody Can Tell Which Ones They Are. (n.d.). Jezebel. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://jezebel.com/5973648/a-quarter-of-all-diamonds-in-stores-are-blood-diamonds-and- nobody-can-tell-which-ones-they-are Bieri, F., &Boli, J. (2011). Trading Diamonds Responsibly: Institutional Explanations for Corporate Social Responsibility. Sociological Forum, 26(3), 501-526 Gooch, T. (2008). Conflict diamonds or illicit diamonds: should the difference matter to the kimberley process certification scheme? Natural Resources Journal, 48(1), 189. Le Billon, P. (2006). Fatal transactions: conflict diamonds and the (anti)terrorist consumer. Antipode, 38(4), 778-801. Shaker-Landau, R. (2010). The Fundamentals of Ethics: Second Edition. New York, NY. Oxford University Press, Inc. Levy, A. V. (2003). Diamonds and conflict: Problems and solutions. Hauppauge, N.Y: Novinka Books. United, S. G. A. O. (2003). International trade: Critical issues remain in deterring conflict diamond trade. S.l.: Diane Pub Co.. Read More