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What are blood diamonds?

- Also known as conflict diamonds

- Defined by UN as “gems in areas controlled by forces opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments”

- Used to fund military action against those governments and contravene decision of UN Security Council

- Funded conflicts in Africa such as civil wars and disputes

- Used by terrorist groups such as al-Qaida to finance their activities

Bibliography

Political

- The political struggle occurred between the Revolutionary United Front against the Sierra Leone government and later the United Nations.

"Blood Diamonds - Environmental Impact in Sierra Leone, Angola, Africa." Conflict Free Canadian Diamonds

& Engagement Rings. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.brilliantearth.com/blood-diamond-environmental-impact/>.

Briggs, Nicholas S.. "Conflict diamonds in West Africa." Stanford University. N.p., 5 Dec. 2003. Web. 10 Oct.

2012. <http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Conflict%20diamonds%20in%20West%20Africa.htm>.

Brown, Pervenia P.. "Blood Diamonds - Sierra Leone." Worldpress.org - World News From World

Newspapers. N.p., 13 Dec. 2005. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/2193.cfm>.

"Conflict Diamonds." Amnesty International USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/business-and-human-rights/oil-gas-and-mining-industries/conflict-diamonds>.

"Conflict Diamonds." United Nations: It's Your World. United Nations Department of Public Information, 21

Mar. 2001. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html>.

"Environmental case study - Conflict diamonds." Oxbridge Writers. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/management/environmental-case-study-conflict-diamonds.php>.

Maconachie, Roy. "Diamond mining, governance initiatives and post-conflict development in Sierra Leone."

Brooks World Poverty Institute. University of Manchester, 14 July 2008. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <www.eisourcebook.org/cms//files/attachments/other/bwpi-wp-5008.pdf>.

Miesen, Floreana. "Blood diamonds - West Africa." E+Z - Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit - Internationale

Zeitschrift.. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dandc.eu/articles/220543/index.en.shtml>.

Shah, Anup. "Sierra Leone." Global Issues. N.p., 23 July 2001. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.globalissues.org/article/88/sierra-leone>.

Tran, Mark. "Everything you need to know about blood diamonds." The Guardian. N.p., 5 Aug. 2010. Web.

13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/05/blood-diamonds>.

- The sides were engaged in war to control the blood diamond situation in Sierra Leone. The R.U.F. was too strong for the Sierra Leone government to stop them and this resulted in no clear controlling power. The result was a prolonged war for more than ten years over the trading of blood diamonds.

Blood Diamonds in Sierra Leone

Conflict

Solutions

- African countries with natural wealth usually have limited rewards and experience underdevelopment, corruption, political instability and violence

- The P.E.E.S method will help explain the Blood Diamond conflict in Sierra Leone

- Recommendations for government, organizations, private companies will affect the population of Sierra Leone

- Recommendations include setting up commissions under the United Nations, improving security systems to develop a peaceful environment and to restore peace and harmony and using mineral resources properly

- Efforts need to be placed in removing smuggling pathways

- Government need to raise the standards by insisting high capital investment for good market value

Social

- This in return stops the selling of diamonds and the United Nations can stop the purchasing of diamonds in Sierra Leone

- Direct impact on the people as the blood diamonds were a crucial part of the country’s trade system, affecting economy and as a result the people’s income

- Corruption of government led to economic crisis and military rule

- War displaced many civilian, killing 75,000 lives

- Civilians also became slaves and affected the lives of the people

- R.U.F. has tortured many: harassment, terrorizing, mutilation, captures

How Solutions will solve P.E.E.S.

- A peaceful environment will create a better atmosphere all throughout the country

- Reduced illegal activity will lower crimes in the country, allowing the country to work towards development and growth

- Thousands of war survivors lack medical and psychosocial support

- They are traumatized by war with lack of compensation

- Only time will heal the people of Sierra Leone as the country develops and grows

- Today, Sierra Leone has found peace but the country is still scarred from its past

- HDI ranks Sierra Leone as 180 out of 187

- Nearly 20% of children die before five years old, 40% of adults over 15 are literate and two-third of the population live on less than $1.25

- Rewarding people for fairness will increase honesty and faith in the people for the government

- Faith will also help in making good market value of the legal diamonds in the international market, stimulating the economy and removing financial crisis

History Cont'd

- Two years later, Nigeria led the Military Observer Group of the Economic Community of West African States (E.C.O.M.O.G.) to remove A.F.R.C. rebels and reinstated Kabbah

- Nigerian forces were unable to retain the rebels and the R.U.F. emerged in 1999 again, killing more than 6000 civilians and mutilating many more

History Cont'd

- In 2002, the U.N. sent the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, a 17,000 force to supervise the disbarment of the R.U.F.

- In 2003, the war finally ended. A government-run initiative known as the Kimberley Process was introduced

- The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposed requirements that shipments on rough diamonds would be conflict-free

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- The government became corrupt, millions of dollars in development revenue was lost and political instability continued

- To this date, diamond mining areas in Sierra Leone continue to run

- Without significant efforts to maintain better socioeconomic opportunities for youths in the area, violence can resume

- UNDP economic and social development indicators suggest Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world

- At the end of the 1980s, the economy was nearing a state of collapse after years of poor government and economic mismanagement under the previous government

- The war over blood diamonds in the 1990s destroyed social and economic infrastructure as poverty became widespread

- Diamonds were able to fuel conflict as both parties engaged in war

History Cont'd

Economic

- The National Provisional Ruling Council (N.P.R.C.) began war with the R.U.F. to stabilize the region and restore democratic rule

- Both sides launched many attacks against each other

- To maintain the control of the diamond mines, the R.U.F. chopped off the hands and feet of adults, teens, children, and infants

- R.U.F. was still invited to participate in elections despite these cruel acts

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- In 1996, the president at the time Ahmed Tejan Kabbah signed a peace agreement in Abidjan that gave the R.U.F. the chance to become a political party

- Instead, the R.U.F. formed the Armed Forces Ruling Council (A.F.R.C.) with insurgents of the Sierra Leonean army and overruled President Kabbah

Environmental

- Today, the government’s priority is of sustainable development, which includes maintain valuable mineral resources such as diamonds, gold, rutile, bauxite, and iron ore

- This has been a central goal for the National Recovery Strategy (NRS) and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) launched in 2002 and 2005 respectively.

- More attention must be given to the government of diamonds, including the control of buying, trading, smuggling and ensuring that the financial rewards are returned the diamond communities

- Diamond mining has caused soil erosion, deforestation, and forced locals to move

History Cont'd

- The violence continued to worsen and the government of Sierra Leone signed another peace agreement in Lomé, Togo which would allow the R.U.F. to be brought into the government with cabinet positions

- The R.U.F. was not interested in the rebuilding of Sierra Leone and only wanted to control the diamond mines and as a result, thousands of civilians were killed an mutilated

- Some economists argue that the blood diamonds were able to play an important role in the national development of the country

- Mining was the most important foreign exchange earner for the country, generating 80% of export earnings and 20% of the GDP

- Lack of protection in rivers and streams as miners constructed dams to expose riverbeds for mining and as an outcome endangered wildlife and fish

- Approximately 10-15% of the European market export value is split between miners and diggers, showing that contribution of diamonds that are mined and exported illegally is only of a small portion

Economic Cont'd

- Before war, the diamond revenues were used to finance infrastructure development and provide clean drinking water and electricity, fostering economic growth

- International intervention arrived in June 2001; ten years after the war began. The United Nations banned Liberian diamond sales, travel by Liberian officials, and tougher weapons sanctions

- It was very difficult for the U.N. to enforce these sanctions since there was no means of overlooking the international movement of diamonds

Environmental Cont'd

History

- Thousands of mining pits are left with wildlife disappeared, topsoil eroded, and land that is unsuitable for farming

-Abandoned mining pits have filled with rainwater and have been infested with mosquitoes that spread malaria and other water-borne diseases

- Sierra Leone’s war over conflict diamonds began in March 1991

- Diamonds also fueled war by helping the rebels gain firearms and weapons that caused noise and air pollution in Sierra Leone

- Caused harmful skin diseases, breathing problems, and other diseases harmful to people

- A few hundred men crossed over the Liberian border and attacked towns in Sierra Leone

- In 1992, the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.), a prominent rebel group, seized Kono, a major city in Sierra Leone for diamond mining

- The R.U.F. was run by the Charles Taylor, a warlord who later became the President of Liberia. Taylor participated in illegal diamond trading but also acted as a banker and weapons supplier. He turned the blood diamonds into a global trade and used the profits to purchase weapons for the R.U.F. to use

Difference between a blood diamond and a real one:

- “Certificate of Origin” on diamond shows that they come from government controlled areas

- Only these diamonds should be allowed to reach the market

- Controls by Member States and diamond industry ensure that conflict diamonds are not distributed

- Need to standardize certificate among trading countries, transparency, auditing, and monitoring of the legislation

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