Blood Diamonds: The Intolerance Of Blood Diamonds In Africa

“The diamond was long marketed as a symbol of purity. However, this image was tarnished by the revelation that diamonds were being used to finance and perpetuate conflicts” (Goreux). A portion of the world’s diamonds come from areas where war and blood shed are an everyday occurrence. Conflict diamond mining is a horrific infringement on basic human rights that rebel groups commit on a normal basis and it needs to come to an end.

Only a small amount of natural resources have captured the attention of the world as much as blood diamonds have (Goreux). Conflict or "blood" diamonds are immorally mined and traded diamonds used to fund conflict in war-torn areas, mainly in Africa (Armstrong). Blood diamonds are detrimental because countries in Africa with a lot of these mines are often troubled by violence. The rebels who enforce said violence treat the workers so poorly that it’s even to the point of torturing and killing them. This blood diamond mining has led to over 3 million deaths in total (Statistic Brain). This is why they are called 'blood' diamonds, because they are stained with the blood of the workers who suffered in order to get them.

People are now starting to take small steps in an effort to eliminate conflict diamonds. Recently, the entire diamond industry made clear to the international community of its intolerance towards blood diamonds. An example of this is their introduction of the Kimberley Process, a certification system for tracking the diamond’s origin. The United States is currently working on legislation for the Clean Diamond Act, in order to ban any diamonds from an unidentified origin. Both of these policies are attempts to create a paper trail for the diamonds and to eliminate conflict diamonds from the ma...

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...use of this, to make a profit from the sale of conflict-free diamonds companies need to charge remarkably more (Conflict Diamonds… CNN iReport).

The ‘conflict trade’ is not limited to just diamonds. Rebel fighters and army units have also seized the trade in mineral ores, used in the production of many different electronics, from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. All the while “subjecting the local population to massacres, rape, extortion, and forced labor” (Armstrong).

Even now, blood diamonds are substantial in Africa. Although it is not as bad as it was, the conflict diamonds are still causing deaths. Even though this is true, it is good to know that recent efforts have decreased the smuggling and trading of blood diamonds. For the future, there is hope for the blood diamond conflict in Africa to decimate (Future of Blood Diamonds - Blood Diamonds, Morris).