If you are in the market for a beautiful piece of diamond jewelry, such as an engagement ring, it is vital that you pause to consider where that beautiful diamond comes from. Although diamonds have for long been loved and admired for their unique beauty, people have not known anything about where they actually come from. Now that is changing, as more and more people have access to information. You may have heard of conflict diamonds and perhaps you would like to avoid buying any; however, finding out if they are conflict diamonds is actually more difficult than you might think.
The way African wars have been conducted has changed drastically as a direct result of the trade in conflict diamonds. Through the blood diamond trade rebel or terrorist groups are able to secure the funds that they need to exist and to finance their wars. As a result, hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children have been injured, tortured, mutilated and killed. Conflict diamonds mean misery and suffering for countless ordinary civilians.
Angola is one country that has suffered due to the diamond trade. After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, there were several groups who fought for control of the country, and UNITA, the National Union for the Total Control of Angola, was one of them. This group sold diamonds abroad in order to finance their war on their government. In Cote d'Ivoire, a route has developed in order to take diamonds out of Liberia and the war zone of Sierra Leone. The Republic of Congo, despite having no official diamond mining industry, has faced sanctions due to the export of large numbers of diamonds with no explanation of where they are from.
In order to curb the sale of conflict diamonds in the world's diamond market, countries are looking for effective means to accomplish that objective. So far, the most thorough idea is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberley Process is seeking a way to completely irradicate blood diamonds in the market place. In doing so the rebel groups would not receive their much needed funding and countless thousands of innocent people will be spared as a result. The process, the uncut diamonds that come from peaceful zones must go through, determines their country of origin. Due to its effectiveness it is quite understandable why it received approval by the United Nations.
There are seventy-four countries represented in the Kimberley Process and forty-eight of those are actively involved. This group of 48 includes all the major countries involved in the production, or the import and export of the gems. Because this is an excellent way of keeping conflict diamonds out of the diamond market, it is a very important and necessary process; however, the bad news is that there is still quite a way to go, because determining where the stones are from or how to accomplish that, is a highly debated issue.
If you are in a place where you are considering the purchase of a diamond, what are your choices going to be? Making it a priority to purchase only conflict-free diamonds is one thing, but how do you follow through? More than one conscientious consumer has run into a brick wall when searching out conflict free diamonds. They may be told that there is no way of telling where the diamonds are from, or they may be pushed off in other ways.
When you want to make sure that the diamonds that you are purchasing are, in fact, conflict free, there are definitely things that can help. Ask the merchants if they know where the diamonds they sell come from, and ask for proof that the diamonds are indeed conflict free. Unfortunately, this is not something that is proved by a verbal affirmative! Ask to see a copy of their company's policy on conflict diamonds and ask to see written statements from suppliers. If they cannot provide them, this definitely tells you something.
Although it might require some extra effort, it is so important that you do your bit in helping to ban the blood diamond trade. Your conscience will be clear because you will also know that you have not contributed in any way to the ongoing suffering of countless thousands of innocent people.
The way African wars have been conducted has changed drastically as a direct result of the trade in conflict diamonds. Through the blood diamond trade rebel or terrorist groups are able to secure the funds that they need to exist and to finance their wars. As a result, hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children have been injured, tortured, mutilated and killed. Conflict diamonds mean misery and suffering for countless ordinary civilians.
Angola is one country that has suffered due to the diamond trade. After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, there were several groups who fought for control of the country, and UNITA, the National Union for the Total Control of Angola, was one of them. This group sold diamonds abroad in order to finance their war on their government. In Cote d'Ivoire, a route has developed in order to take diamonds out of Liberia and the war zone of Sierra Leone. The Republic of Congo, despite having no official diamond mining industry, has faced sanctions due to the export of large numbers of diamonds with no explanation of where they are from.
In order to curb the sale of conflict diamonds in the world's diamond market, countries are looking for effective means to accomplish that objective. So far, the most thorough idea is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberley Process is seeking a way to completely irradicate blood diamonds in the market place. In doing so the rebel groups would not receive their much needed funding and countless thousands of innocent people will be spared as a result. The process, the uncut diamonds that come from peaceful zones must go through, determines their country of origin. Due to its effectiveness it is quite understandable why it received approval by the United Nations.
There are seventy-four countries represented in the Kimberley Process and forty-eight of those are actively involved. This group of 48 includes all the major countries involved in the production, or the import and export of the gems. Because this is an excellent way of keeping conflict diamonds out of the diamond market, it is a very important and necessary process; however, the bad news is that there is still quite a way to go, because determining where the stones are from or how to accomplish that, is a highly debated issue.
If you are in a place where you are considering the purchase of a diamond, what are your choices going to be? Making it a priority to purchase only conflict-free diamonds is one thing, but how do you follow through? More than one conscientious consumer has run into a brick wall when searching out conflict free diamonds. They may be told that there is no way of telling where the diamonds are from, or they may be pushed off in other ways.
When you want to make sure that the diamonds that you are purchasing are, in fact, conflict free, there are definitely things that can help. Ask the merchants if they know where the diamonds they sell come from, and ask for proof that the diamonds are indeed conflict free. Unfortunately, this is not something that is proved by a verbal affirmative! Ask to see a copy of their company's policy on conflict diamonds and ask to see written statements from suppliers. If they cannot provide them, this definitely tells you something.
Although it might require some extra effort, it is so important that you do your bit in helping to ban the blood diamond trade. Your conscience will be clear because you will also know that you have not contributed in any way to the ongoing suffering of countless thousands of innocent people.
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