CORPORATISM - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
Rough trade: Diamond industry still funding bloody conflicts in Africa |
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by Paul Kelbie The Independent Entered into the database on Friday, February 10th, 2006 @ 16:56:09 MST |
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The global diamond trade is continuing to fund vicious civil wars in
countries such as Ivory Coast and Liberia, despite international efforts to
blacklist stones from regions at war. Human rights campaigners warn, in the approach to Valentine's Day, that an
international system of regulating the gem trade is being systematically bypassed.
Millions of men, women and children are being killed, injured and made homeless
as a result. According to a Global Witness and Amnesty International report
released today, "conflict diamonds" from Liberia are being smuggled
into neighbouring countries for export, and stones from strife-torn Ivory Coast
are also finding their way on to the British and other European markets. In Liberia, a bitter eight-year civil war, which has killed more than 200,000
people and displaced more than a million, has been fuelled by the illegal diamond
trade. Diamonds from Ivory Coast are smuggled to Mali and sold on the international
market to provide millions of dollars in revenue for rebel factions such as
the Forces Nouvelles. Amnesty International and Global Witness are calling on the public to protest
against the international trade in conflict diamonds. Shoppers are being urged
to ask sales staff at jewellers where their diamonds come from and whether the
areas are conflict-free. Under existing guidelines retailers should be able to provide a copy of their
company policy on conflict diamonds and a written guarantee from suppliers about
the origin of the stones. "Despite some progress, we are still concerned that the UK diamond industry
is falling short in combating the trade in conflict diamonds," said Tom
Fyans, Amnesty International UK economic relations manager, who claimed that
a recent survey revealed only 18 per cent of stores could provide any assurance.
Since 2003, following a big international campaign highlighting the consequences
of the trade in conflict diamonds, an international certification scheme called
the Kimberley Process has been in place, which means a certificate, guaranteeing
diamonds as conflict-free, should accompany all shipments of rough diamonds
to and from participating countries. In addition all sectors of the diamond industry, including high-street retailers,
agreed to a voluntary system of warranties to ensure diamonds continue to be
tracked right up to the point of sale. "All the diamond producing countries,
the traders and the retailers voluntarily agreed to provide guarantees to the
point of sale so that consumers can walk into a high street shop and be sure
they are getting a good, clean diamond," said Sarah Green, spokeswoman
for Amnesty International, yesterday. " Unfortunately what was agreed has
not been followed through. We know that a lot of conflict diamonds are creeping
into the system and many retailers are not bothering to make warranties available.
"When we carried out a street-level survey only 18 per cent of stores
could provide a copy of their conflict diamond policy and 22 per cent admitted
they had no policy at all." In the past warlords and rebel groups in countries including Angola, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone have used billions of dollars of
profits from the sale of diamonds from the mines they control to buy arms and
fund devastating wars. According to Amnesty International and the campaign group Global Witness, rough
diamonds mined in rebel-held areas of Ivory Coast and Liberia are still being
traded. The illegal stones are smuggled out of conflict areas and into neighbouring
countries where they are either sold on the black market or mixed in with legitimate
Kimberley-certified diamonds and passed off as being sourced from elsewhere.
"Diamonds have provided funding for several brutal conflicts in Africa,
resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people," says a
report compiled by Global Witness into the continuing illegal trade. Four months
ago a Global Witness investigation into the trade discovered that diamonds were
being smuggled out of Ivory Coast by rebel agents to Mali and Guinea where they
were sold to international traders. Hundreds of labourers are being forced to work in diamond pits in three villages
- Seguela, Bobi and Diarabala - in the north of the country to extract up to
300,000 carats a year worth more than $25m (£14m). In addition Global Witness claims that international terrorist groups including
al-Qa'ida have infiltrated diamond trading networks to raise funds for their
cause and launder huge amounts of money. Among the areas targeted by al-Qa'ida is believed to be the illegal operations
in Liberia, which was used as a conduit for diamonds mined by the rebel group
the RUF during the war in Sierra Leone which was responsible for the deaths
of at least 50,000 people and the mutilation, rape, torture and abduction of
thousands of others. So far more than 200,000 lives have been lost in Liberia
as a result of the conflict there. "Things have got a lot better since the Kimberley Process was set up in
2003 but there is still a lot that can be done," said Susie Sanders of
Global Witness, who said that at one time it was estimated that one in six diamonds
was a conflict diamond but now, with the stricter controls in place, that percentage
is now very small. "We want people to help put pressure on the retailers who, in turn, will
put pressure on their suppliers to end once and for all the trade in conflict
diamonds," said Ms Sanders. "Diamonds may be expensive, but they shouldn't cost lives." Ask before you buy Every consumer can help ensure diamonds never again fund conflict by asking
four simple questions. Before buying a diamond, shoppers should ask the sales
person the following: 1. How can I be sure that none of your jewellery contains
conflict diamonds? 2. Do you know where the diamonds you sell come from? 3. Can I see a copy of your company's policy on conflict
diamonds? 4. Can you show me a written guarantee from your diamond
suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict-free? "They should be only too pleased to help you," says a campaign
guide from Amnesty International and Global Witness. "If they aren't,
try somewhere else, and tell them why." |