What are conflict free diamonds?
What Is A Conflict-Free Diamond?
A diamond is a conflict-free diamond if its profit is not used to fund war, and it is mined and produced under ethical conditions.
Conflict-Free Diamonds are Traceable
The only way to certify a diamond as conflict-free is to trace and monitor the diamond from the diamond mine to the consumer. Simply banning conflict diamonds from war torn countries and assuming all other diamonds are conflict-free is na?ve and ineffective. Conflict diamonds continue to be sold across national borders into the international diamond market as clean diamonds. Only diamonds that are part of a certified program, and can be traced from mine to consumer, can be conflict-free.
What Is A Conflict Diamond?
A diamond is a conflict diamond if its profit is used to fund war, or it is mined or produced under unethical conditions.
Civil or Foreign War
A conflict diamond is any diamond that originates from a country where the profits from the diamond industry are funding arms trade or military organizations. During these wars, armed combatants often fight for control of the diamond mines because of their profitability. The fighting is rarely restricted to armed personnel and civilians are often killed during the campaign. The wars in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the most notable examples. The wars are not always internal; Liberia has used the profits from diamonds to fund conflicts in other countries.
For more information, see the Confict-Free Diamond website. You might also want to see the movie Blood Diamond.
Diamonds are beautiful, romantic, valuable gemstones. It is up to use to ensure that that are mined under safe and ethical circimstances.