Last year I blogged Does the Blood Diamond Scheme Really Work. Global Witness had reported that the Kimberly Process could
be failing because loopholes had been discovered in the process. Now there seems to be another break in the system. What is a blood or conflict diamond? The Kimberly Process (KP) defines them as diamonds mined for the purpose of fueling some sort of unsanctioned war or conflict.
This definition is now a problem and of all the countries to redefine this is Zimbabwe. The country is home to the Marange diamond fields which is a small scale diamond producing mine since the 1980s when it was owned by DeBeers.
However a diamond rush began in late 2006 when the government of Zimbabwe took control of the fields. Thousands of illegal miners began prospecting creating water and sanitation issues. Initially the miners sold their diamonds to the government, but a black market quickly developed offering better prices.
Eventually, the proceeds the government was receiving from selling diamonds found its way to only benefiting senior officials of the Zanu-PF of which President Robert Mugabe is a member.
By 2008, mining was carried out by soldiers who would then use local villagers in forced labor. The conditions are violent with far reaching implications. Murder, rape, and political oppression are currently on the market with ‘conflict free’ certification, according to American jeweler Brilliant Earth‘s fact sheet. Beth Gerstein from Brilliant Earth states, “Its not enough to accept a diamond’s Kimberly Process certification; you have to know the practices of the mine it came from.”
Check back tomorrow for Part II of Conflict Diamonds and The Kimberly Process.
