| Conflict diamonds are essentially diamonds that are | | | | there was little action taken against this type of |
| sold or traded in exchange for arms which are then | | | | diamond, mainly because of the inability to trace a |
| used in either human rights violations or some kind of | | | | given diamond's original and the inability of the UN or |
| terror or warfare. The reason why they are a major | | | | any other country to intervene. |
| issue is because of the guilt associated with | | | | A change occurred in the 1990s with the publication |
| purchasing a diamond whose value went to the | | | | of the Fowler Report, which detailed the abuses and |
| purchase of arms and subsequent violence against | | | | human rights violations occurring in those countries |
| innocent civilians. In addition, there are constant | | | | suffering from civil war as well as the sales to |
| reports of violence against those who work the | | | | perpetuate war efforts. Because of this, the major |
| diamond mines or live in countries where diamonds | | | | players in the diamond industry, met in Antwerp in |
| are mined. However, the history behind conflict | | | | 2000 and resolved to solve the problem of the |
| diamonds is quite complex and is linked to various | | | | conflict diamond permanently by requiring industry to |
| regime changes in Africa and internal politics along | | | | check the origin of each diamond to ensure the origin |
| with the interaction with diamond mining companies. | | | | is not a war zone. Following this resolution, the UN |
| The first major incident regarding these diamonds | | | | created and formally established the Kimberly Process |
| was between the years of 1974 and 2001, when | | | | Certification Scheme (KPCS), an initiative meant to |
| Angola suffered a devastating civil war that was | | | | eliminate the conflict diamond from the market |
| partially funded by the sale of diamonds. To wit, the | | | | permanently. |
| UNITA party used diamond sales to fund their war | | | | The conflict diamond has recently become a burning |
| against MPLA and FNLA parties. It also happens to be | | | | issue because of the discovery of diamond mines in |
| that this bitter war was essentially an extended | | | | Zimbabwe. The reports coming from Zimbabwe claim |
| violent dispute over who would rule following gaining | | | | that the government has seized the mine and has |
| independence from Portugal. With additional civil wars | | | | forced the civilian population living near the mines into |
| in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, and the | | | | a quasi-slavery mining diamonds under threat of |
| Congo during the 1980s and 1990 and the partial to | | | | violence. However, the government denies these |
| full funding of those wars by diamond sales, conflict | | | | reports and has continued with its actions, which has |
| diamonds became a burning issue. | | | | shown that the KPCS does not have the strength to |
| In response to these different wars, it became | | | | prevent the conflict diamond from the market. The |
| taboo to own a conflict diamond and thus the | | | | reason why these diamonds became an issue is the |
| diamond industry faced a serious problem in which | | | | reaction of the diamond market, which was the |
| the number of diamond purchases dropped | | | | refusal to accept those diamonds as well as Martin |
| considerably. This was because some diamonds' | | | | Rapaport's 3 days fast during the KPCS's annual |
| origins were unknown and it was possible that those | | | | meeting in Israel in June. |
| diamonds were originally conflict diamonds. In addition, | | | | |