Editing Blood diamond (section)

==History==

===Angola===
Reports estimated that as much as 21% of the total diamond production in the 1980s was being sold for illegal and unethical purposes and 19% was specifically ''conflict'' in nature.<ref name=PACWEB>{{cite web |url=http://blooddiamond.pacweb.org/kimberlyprocess/ |title=The Kimberley Controls: How Effective? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[Partnership Africa Canada]] |access-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116014842/http://blooddiamond.pacweb.org/kimberlyprocess/ |archive-date=16 January 2007}}</ref> By 1999, the illegal diamond trade was estimated by the [[World Diamond Council]] to have been reduced to 4% of the world's diamond production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.com/estimate.shtml%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7c%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7cwork=worlddiamondcouncil.com%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7cwork=worlddiamondcouncil.com|title=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM|access-date=2015-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219221913/http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.com/estimate.shtml%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7c%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7cwork=worlddiamondcouncil.com%7ctitle=WORLDDIAMONDCOUNCIL.COM%7cwork=worlddiamondcouncil.com|archive-date=2016-12-19|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html |title=Conflict Diamonds - DiamondFacts.org |access-date=2006-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211002030/http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html |archive-date=2006-12-11 }}</ref> The World Diamond Council reported that by 2004 this percentage had fallen to approximately 1% and up to today the World Diamond Council refers to this illegal trade to be virtually eliminated, meaning that more than 99% of diamonds being sold have a legal background.<ref name=PACWEB/><ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.venetiamajor.com.au/services/diamonds-gemstones/conflict-diamonds/|title=Conflict Diamonds|work=Venetia Major – Bespoke Jewellery|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410042847/http://www.venetiamajor.com.au/services/diamonds-gemstones/conflict-diamonds/|archive-date=2013-04-10}}</ref>

Despite the UN Resolution, [[UNITA]] was able to continue to sell or trade some diamonds in order to finance its war effort. The UN set out to find how this remaining illicit trade was being conducted and appointed Canadian ambassador [[Robert Fowler (diplomat)|Robert Fowler]] to investigate. In 2000, he produced the [[Fowler Report]], which named those countries, organizations and individuals involved in the trade.  The report is credited with establishing the link between diamonds and third world conflicts,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kNErbPSzUUC|title=Diamonds and Conflict: Problems and Solutions|author=Arthur V. Levy|pages=5–6|publisher=N ova Publishers|year=2003 |isbn=1-59033-715-8}}</ref> and led directly to [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295]], as well as the [[Kimberley Process Certification Scheme]] (KPCS). Still, after the report was published in 2013, smugglers from these African countries were selling blood diamonds through channels less sophisticated, such as social media posts. Rhinestones from Angola, produced by UNITA, were being traded to Cameroon for acquisition of a Cameroonian certificate naturalization to then be sold as legitimate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chutel |first1=Lynsey |title=Selling blood diamonds is as simple as a Facebook post and a WhatsApp message |url=https://qz.com/africa/1014548/blood-diamonds-from-central-african-republic-are-sold-over-facebook-and-whatsapp/ |website=Quartz Africa |date=26 June 2017 |access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref>

===Ivory Coast===
[[Ivory Coast]]  began to develop a fledgling diamond mining industry in the early 1990s. A [[Coup d'état|coup]] overthrew the government in 1999, starting a civil war. The country became a route for exporting diamonds from Liberia and war-torn Sierra Leone.<ref name=DFORGConflictbackground>{{cite web |url=http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/background.html |title=Background - Conflict Diamonds- DiamondFacts.org |access-date=2006-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213064137/http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/background.html |archive-date=2006-12-13 }}</ref><ref name=heartmatter>{{cite web |url=http://www.sierra-leone.org/heartmatter.html |title=The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security - Partnership Africa Canada - Sierra Leone Web |access-date=2006-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070120121759/http://www.sierra-leone.org/heartmatter.html |archive-date=2007-01-20 }}</ref> Foreign investment begin to withdraw from Ivory Coast. To curtail the illegal trade, the nation stopped all diamond mining and the [[UN Security Council]] banned all exports of diamonds from Ivory Coast in December 2005. This ban lasted about ten years but it was later lifted in April 2014 when members of the UN council voted to suspend the sanction. The Kimberley process officials also notified in November 2013 that Ivory Coast was right producing artisanal diamonds.<ref name=DFORGConflictbackground/>

Despite UN sanctions, the illicit diamond trade still exists in Ivory Coast. Rough diamonds are exported out of the country to neighboring states and international trading centers through the northern [[Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire|Forces Nouvelles]] controlled section of the country, a group which is reported to be using these funds to re-arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/861/en/campaigners_call_for_urgent_action_on_zimbabwe_blo |title=Campaigners call for urgent action on Zimbabwe blood diamonds and wider reform of the Kimberley Process to prevent abuse - media library - global witness |access-date=2011-05-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902191501/http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/861/en/campaigners_call_for_urgent_action_on_zimbabwe_blo |archive-date=2010-09-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N09/550/99/PDF/N0955099.pdf?OpenElement|title=Home Page|author=ODS Team|work=un.org}}</ref>

===Democratic Republic of Congo===
The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (formerly [[Zaire]]) has suffered numerous looting wars in the 1990s,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.miningafrica.net/mining-countries-africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/ |title=Democratic Republic of Congo |work=Mining Africa |language=en-US |access-date=8 May 2017 |archive-date=31 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131192900/http://www.miningafrica.net/mining-countries-africa/democratic-republic-of-congo/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> but has been a member of the Kimberley Process since 2003 and now exports about 8% of the world's diamonds.<ref name=DFORGConflictbackground/> {{As of|2021}}, there is a warning concerning diamonds proceeding from this area<ref>{{cite web |title=Enforcement |url=https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/enforcement |website=Kimberley Process |access-date=9 January 2021}}</ref> since there have been multiple cases of fake Kimberley certificates accompanying the gems. One of [[De Beers]]  most celebrated diamonds, the D-colour {{convert|777|carat|g}} [[Millennium Star]] was discovered in the DRC and sold to De Beers, in open competition with other diamond buyers, between 1991 and 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=MacAskill |first1=Ewen |last2=McGreal |first2=Chris |last3=Vidal |first3=John |title=Blood, sweat and ice |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/nov/09/features11.g2 |work=The Guardian |date=9 November 2000}}</ref>

===Liberia===
From 1989 to 2003, [[Liberia]] was engaged in [[Second Liberian Civil War|a civil war]]. In 2000, the UN accused Liberian president [[Charles G. Taylor]] of supporting the [[Revolutionary United Front]] (RUF) insurgency in neighboring [[Sierra Leone]] with weapons and training in exchange for diamonds.<ref name="pssure">{{cite news
| title       = Pressure Makes Diamonds
| first       = Maya
| last       = Bornstein
| url       = http://cashfordiamondsusa.com/blog/2012/09/pressure-makes-diamonds/
| date       = September 2012
| access-date       = 2012-09-22
| archive-date       = 2012-11-09
| archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20121109082813/http://cashfordiamondsusa.com/blog/2012/09/pressure-makes-diamonds/
| url-status       = dead
}}</ref> In 2001, the [[United Nations]] applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August 2003, Taylor stepped down as president and, after being exiled to [[Nigeria]], faced trial in [[The Hague]]. On July 21, 2006, he pleaded not guilty to [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crime]]s,<ref name=DFORGConflictbackground/> of which he was found guilty in April 2012.  On May 30, 2012, he began a 50-year sentence in a high security prison in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="nyt">{{cite news
| title       = Ex-Liberian Leader Gets 50 Years for War Crimes
| first       = Marlise
| last        = Simons
| url         = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/world/africa/charles-taylor-sentenced-to-50-years-for-war-crimes.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www
| newspaper   = [[The New York Times]]
| date        = May 30, 2012
}}</ref>

Around the time of the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]], [[al-Qaeda]] allegedly bought gems from Liberia as some of its other financial assets were frozen.<ref name="BBCal">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2775763.stm|title= Al-Qaeda 'traded blood diamonds'|work=bbc.co.uk|date= 20 February 2003}}</ref>

Having regained peace, Liberia is attempting to construct a legitimate diamond mining industry. The UN has lifted sanctions and Liberia is now a member of the KPCS.<ref>{{cite web|title=UN Security Council votes to lift ban on Liberian diamond exports|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/un-security-council-votes-to-lift-ban-on-liberian-diamond-exports-1.689632|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=11 December 2013}}</ref>

In December 2014 however, Liberian diamonds were reported to be partly [[Child labour in the diamond industry|produced using child labor]] according to the [[US Department of Labor]]'s ''[[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor]]''.

=== Sierra Leone ===
The [[Sierra Leone Civil War]] started in 1991 and continued until 2002, costing an estimated 50,000 lives and causing local people to suffer killings, mutilation, rape, torture and abduction, mainly due to the brutal warfare waged by rebel group, the [[Revolutionary United Front]] (RUF). The RUF claimed that they supported causes of justice and democracy in the beginning, but later on they started to control the villages and to prevent local people from voting for the new government by chopping off their limbs. Victims included children and infants. It created numerous examples of physical and psychological harm across Sierra Leone.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/22/world/sierra-leone-measures-terror-in-severed-limbs.html |title=Sierra Leone Measures Terror in Severed Limbs |last=Onishi |first=Norimitsu |date=22 August 1999 |work=The New York Times |access-date=19 December 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Moreover, they also occupied the diamond mines in order to get access to funding and continued support of their actions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smillie|first=I|date=2013|title=Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law|journal=Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law|volume=46|issue=4|pages=1004}}</ref> For example, during that time, RUF was mining up to $125 million of diamonds yearly. Since diamonds are used as a funding source, they also created opportunities for tax evasion and financial support of crime.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Global Witness|date=2006|title=The Truth About Diamonds : Conflict and Development.|url=https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf|journal=Global Witness}}</ref> Therefore, United Nations Security Council imposed diamond sanctions in 2000, which were then lifted in 2003. According to [[National Geographic News|''National Geographic News'']], all of these civil wars and conflicts created by rebel groups resulted in over four million deaths in the African population and injuries to over two million civilians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://money.howstuffworks.com/african-diamond-trade2.htm|title=How the African Diamond Trade Works|last=Hoyt|first=A|website=Howstuffworks.com|date=21 April 2008}}</ref> Another conflict diamond statistic from Statistic Brain revealed that Sierra Leone has been listed as second highest in the production of conflict diamonds, which is shown as 1% of the world's production, after Angola, which produced 2.1% in 2016. 15% of Sierra Leone's diamond production are conflict diamonds. It shows that the production of conflict diamonds still exists in Sierra Leone.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2016 |title=Conflict Diamond statistics |url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/conflict-diamond-statistics/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314173102/http://www.statisticbrain.com/conflict-diamond-statistics |archive-date=2012-03-14 |website=Statistic Brain}}</ref>

According to the US's 2005 [[Country Reports on Human Rights Practices|Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of Africa]], serious human rights issues still exist in Sierra Leone, even though the 11-year civil conflict had officially ended by 2002. Sierra Leone remains in an unstable political situation, although the country has elected a new government. The huge consequences of blood diamonds still remain a mainstream issue in Sierra Leone. One of the biggest issues is people still being abused by the security forces, including rape and the use of excessive force on detainees, including teenagers. Child abuse and child labor are other serious issues which took place in Sierra Leone after the civil conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61591.htm|title=2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Africa : Sierra Leone|last=U.S. Department of State|date=2006}}</ref> As they need a high number of workers, the security forces started kidnapping and forcing young adults to be their slaves; children were forced to join their army as soldiers, and women were raped. They even burned entire villages. Thousands of men, women, and children are used as slaves to collect diamonds, and they are forced to use their bare hands to dig in mud along river banks instead of digging with tools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/26/world/africa/blood-diamonds/index.html|title=How diamonds fuel Africa's conflicts|last=Paul|first=Armstrong|date=2012|website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/89089538/Ethical-Issue-Analyis-Blood-Diamond-Analysis|title=Ethical Issue Analysis: Blood Diamond Analysis|last=Tammy|first=Hanna|date=2012}}</ref>

A report from [[Global Witness]], "The Truth About Diamonds: Conflict and Development", mentioned that Sierra Leone is listed as second from the bottom of the [[United Nations Human Development Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Human Development Report - Sierra Leone |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SLE |access-date=8 October 2020 |website=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref> It also showed that Sierra Leone was still making slow progress, in 2016, in such different aspects as education, health, and human rights, since 1990, which is also the year that conflicts took place in Sierra Leone. It shows that it is a huge consequence of blood diamonds that it brought into the country, even though the war had ended in 2002 and the government tried to improve and adjust the cooperation of the diamond industry. Sierra Leone resulted in an increase of over US$140 million in 2005 and attempted a percentage return of export tax to diamond mining communities. However, it does not improve anything{{snd}}the money is not reaching the public and it has not provided benefit to anyone in the communities. For instance, the [[Kono District]] in Sierra Leone has been mined for 70 years, but there are still no basic facilities, like electricity and well-maintained roads. Houses are destroyed because of the civil wars.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 2006 |title=The Truth About Diamonds: Conflict and Development |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf |publisher=[[Global Witness]] |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref> It also examines the ethical issues of how rebel groups treat those locals. They used brainwashing of inexperienced young children and forced them to be child soldiers as they lost their personal freedom and rights under command that included violence and intimidation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tammy |first=Hanna |date=2012 |title=Ethical Issue Analysis – Blood Diamond Analysis |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/89089538/Ethical-Issue-Analyis-Blood-Diamond-Analysis |access-date=8 October 2020 |website=[[Scribd]]}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=April 2025}}

=== Republic of Congo ===
The [[Republic of the Congo]] (Congo-Brazzaville) was expelled from the Kimberley Process in 2004<ref name=IPS/> because, despite having no official diamond mining industry, the country was [[export]]ing large quantities of diamonds, the origin of which it could not detail. It was also accused of falsifying certificates of origin. The Republic of the Congo was readmitted in 2007.<ref name=IPS>{{cite news|publisher=IPS|access-date=2010-08-11|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40296|title=Blood Diamonds No Longer Congo-Brazzaville's Best Friend|date=30 Nov 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117091311/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40296|archive-date=2009-01-17}}</ref>

===Zimbabwe===
[[Zimbabwe]] diamonds are not considered conflict diamonds by the KPCS. In July 2010, the KPCS agreed that diamonds from the country's disputed [[Marange Diamond Fields]] could be sold on the international market,<ref name="TheIndependent">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/zimbabwe-gets-goahead-to-sell-diamonds-again-2028699.html|title=Zimbabwe gets go-ahead to sell diamonds again|work=The Independent|date=23 October 2011}}</ref> after a report from the Scheme's monitor a month earlier described diamonds mined from the fields as [[Conflict-free diamond|conflict-free]].<ref name="WSJ">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703630304575270681883985308|title=Zimbabwe Nears Approval for Marange-Field Diamond Exports |author1=Farai Mutsaka |author2=Peter Wonacott |author3=Sarah Childress |date=28 May 2010|work=WSJ}}</ref>

===Central African Republic===
The [[Central African Republic]] (CAR) has had a complex and controversial role in the trade and export of blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds. These are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance armed conflict against governments. Here's an overview of CAR's involvement in the issue:

Conflict and Rebel Groups: The CAR has experienced ongoing armed conflict involving various rebel groups, which have used diamond revenues to fund their activities. These diamonds, often mined under harsh conditions, were sold on the global market to fund violence, leading to the term "blood diamonds."

The CAR is a participant in the KPCS, but it has faced significant challenges in implementing it effectively. In 2013, the CAR was suspended from the Kimberley Process due to concerns that diamonds were being used to fund armed groups. The suspension, however, was lifted in 2016 after the country demonstrated steps to regulate the diamond trade.

Illicit Trade and Smuggling: Despite the efforts of the Kimberley Process, illicit diamond trade remains a significant issue. Rebel groups and illicit traders continue to smuggle diamonds out of the country, bypassing official export channels, and selling them in other regions or to illegal markets.

Impact on CAR's Economy: While diamonds have historically been a major economic resource for CAR, the illegal trade has hindered the country's development and contributed to its ongoing instability. The diamond sector is still crucial to the country's economy, but the lack of proper regulation and the influence of conflict groups make the trade problematic.

International Efforts: The international community, including organizations like the United Nations, has imposed sanctions on the CAR to try to curb the flow of conflict diamonds. However, enforcement has been challenging, especially given the instability and weak governance in the region.