Are All Diamonds Blood Diamonds?

Buy a Diamond, Kill an African

"Every diamond in De Beers Diamond Jewellery is conflict-free and child labour free."

For many Americans, clarity and size are the two most important considerations when choosing a diamond. These folks have little concern beyond fulfilling the status quo or pleasing their eager fiancés. A select few, however, are much more interested in where their diamonds come from. For them, the above De Beers promise is the most important one a diamond company can make. These Americans are well aware of the horrifying nature of the conflict diamond industry and need reassurance that no blood had been spilled in the manufacturing of their precious gem.

Blood or conflict diamonds, aptly named due to the vicious nature in which they are obtained, are described by the United Nations as "...diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council." Diamonds such as these, received international attention during the mid nineties as a result of bloody conflict in Sierra Leone. At that time, conflict diamonds accounted for about 4% of all diamonds. Since the enactment of the Kimberly Process, that number has been reduced to about 1%. The Republic of Congo, Liberia and the Ivory Coast are the three countries responsible for that small, yet significant percent.

The Kimberly Process Certification System, a UN backed system, was enacted in 2002 following a global outcry against blood diamonds. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations teamed up with the diamond industry to create a process that has since reduced the wide-scale manufacturing and distribution of blood diamonds. In fact, Diamondfacts.org found that the Kimberly Process was largely responsible for diamonds now accounting for much of the economic growth in Africa.

Diamondfacts.org provides a number of facts on their website that demonstrate the positive effects of diamonds, including,