Blood Diamonds

Blood Diamonds
M Cavanagh

The United Nations definition of blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds, was established in the 1990’s during the civil wars taking place in Central Africa. Blood diamonds are diamonds that are mined in areas controlled by rebel forces, which are then sold into the market and the profits are used to support the rebellion. These rebel groups are often quite violent and do not care for civilian lives. Once these diamonds enter the legitimate market, there is no way to distinguish them from conflict free diamonds. In 2000, many diamond traders were held accountable for not verifying where the diamonds were coming from. Since then, the amount of blood diamonds in the market has fallen. Some activists are fighting for the UN to redefine “blood diamonds” to “gems whose trade is based on aggression or violence of any kind.” The push for this redefinition stems from countries like Zimbabwe, where government officials take advantage of diamond miners, sometimes abusing them or denying them of basic human rights, to fund themselves and keep themselves in power. These blood diamonds are the source of a tremendous amount of abuse, from the mining itself to the outcome of the profits. Civilians suffer the worst of these actions, funds from these diamonds provide rebel groups with weapons and power, leading to murder, sexual abuse, torture, and even the recruiting of child soldiers. Although the main conflicts in Africa have settled since 2013, there is still an abundance of crime in relation to the diamond trade as well as in many other countries that are considered conflict free. The processes used to verify diamonds do not include diamonds received from “conflict free” countries, where human rights for the miners are commonly denied. The demand for diamonds is only growing as our technology advances and our population grows, how can the UN and diamond traders be sure that no blood diamonds are reaching the consumers? It is impossible to know the difference once they have been integrated into the market. The only sure way to stop the flow of blood diamonds or diamonds that were not obtained humanely, is to decrease the demand. The less people buying diamonds, the lower the value, and in turn less profit for corrupt governments or rebel groups selling them.

A possible solution to this issue is lab grown diamonds, or man made diamonds. These diamonds are not mined, but instead are created in a lab environment. These environments duplicate the conditions under which diamonds naturally develop. These types of diamonds have been used for industrial purposes for years, and are just recently becoming more affordable than mined diamonds for the public. Everything about a lab  diamond is the same as a mined one, from the composition, to the processes from which it was formed. This could provide a solution to blood diamonds being sold into the market, and could also provide a less intrusive way of obtaining diamonds, without the negative effects that has mining on the environment. As these diamonds become more affordable and available, they could replace mined diamonds in the ring industry, and in others like use for cutting tools and electronics.





References

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