Conflicts Between Conflict Diamond Trade

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

The process of producing the diamonds so they could be sold on the market involved many steps which were illustrated in the movie, Blood Diamond. Smugglers like Archer would supply the RUF with guns. The guns would be used by the RUF to intimidate the people of Sierra Leone into working as laborers for them, we see this with Solomon and his son. These men would be forced to dig in the water mines for hours a day searching for diamonds of all sizes. Then the diamonds are mixed with other diamonds all around the world, mixing the illegal ones with the legal ones; this was explained in the movie by Archer to Maggie. When the diamonds are mixed in with the others, no one can determine for certainty where each originated from. It is then distributed to nations where they are made into necklaces and bracelets, and no questions are asked.

There has being a global increase in the regulation regarding the use of conflict metals including introduction of guidelines regulations surrounding the importation and investment of metals and overseas mines.

Baker explains how the Kimberly Process can be successful and how the process is being abused. Ultimately the process was created to monitor the marketing of diamonds amongst its funding of civil wars, as Baker states, “The Kimberly Process grew out of a 2000 meeting in Kimberly, South Africa, when the world’s major diamond producers and buyers met to address growing concerns, and the threat of a consumer boycott, over the sale of rough, uncut diamonds to fund the brutal civil wars of Angola and Sierra Leone. . .” (Baker 64-65). Every ship carrying rough diamonds are now required to sustain a type of passport, that allows them to internationally trade those diamonds. Although, if they are not able to prove that their diamonds are conflict-free, they could be suspended from international-trade (Baker 65). While Baker displays the beneficial ways the Kimberly Process succeeds, she presents the oppositions claim. The majority of rough diamonds are now smuggled into the Central African Republic, where they are easily issued papers and consequently illegally sold. Also the Kimberly Process does not rally against important principles, Baker discloses that, “Many countries, industry leaders and international organizations—including the U.S.-based World

South Africa has diamonds and gold. The Boers settled in Africa long before the British came there to colonize. The Boers were Dutch and come over to Africa in 1652. The Boers and the British did not agree with British policies including land and slaves. The Boers had no where to go but north. Which later became known as the Great Trek. When they were heading north they got in fierce battles with the Zulu and many other African groups as they were attempting to take land. The Boers didn't want outsiders coming in when gold was discovered. The Boers did t want any of the people coming to seeks fortune to gain any political rights. People tried to rebel against the Boers and failed. The British were blamed, and the tension was greater than ever.

The diamond cartel has been in existence for over a hundred years. (Spar: 2006) It has faced many issues in order to survive and prosper. (Kretschmer: 1998) Rhodes’ method was sufficient during the early 1900s. (Spar:2006) By 1930, the price of diamonds had fallen and the war was looming; Europeans were not interested in buying diamonds. (Epstein: 1982) It changed ownership to the Oppenheimers around about the Great Depression. Thus began the exploitive marketing tactics of the 20th century. (Epstein: 1982)

The discovery of large deposits of diamonds in 1868 and gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 led to a vast influx of White settlers from Britain and other European states into South Africa and gave further motivation to the ‘Scramble for Africa’ among the European powers. (4)(Hilton, J.L, 2014). This “complicated the Afro-European for political sovereignty by

Diamonds are made of carbon so they form as carbon atoms under a high temperature and pressure; they bond together to start growing crystals. Diamonds are formed underneath the Earth’s surface requiring them to be mined for, which can be a very high labor task. Out of the top ten countries in the world with the most diamonds, Africa has six of those countries (Said, Sammy. “Top Ten Countries with the Most Diamonds Found”). With six African countries being among the world leaders in diamond mining and exportation brings a lot of controversy. Some of these African countries have already been banned in the past from mining and exporting diamonds for many human rights violations. Angola is one of the world’s leading exporters of diamonds. Just

It was enacted for the 54 members in 2003 when all the certification and legislation parameters were formed based on a consensus of the General Assembly (Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Core Document). These 54 members are now responsible for a vast majority of the diamonds legally traded worldwide and ensure that the basis for these diamonds do not infringe upon basic human rights ("KB Basis" Kimberley Process). People are not allowed to openly trade diamonds that have a “conflict” source in an attempt to reduce violations of humanitarian rights.

Britain’s motive to expand the growth and development of South Africa had a positive influence on South Africa’s economy and on the whole nation. As a matter of fact, the British discoveries of diamonds and other natural minerals and resources in South Africa has played a huge factor in transforming the nation into an advanced economy. Some of these discoveries include highly precious diamonds and gold. In fact, the most extreme transformations in South Africa’s economy occurred between 1870 and 1902. As a result of these transformations, the nation was on the verge of urbanization and industrialization as it began to emerge as an international trader of it’s valuable minerals. One of the industries responsible for inaugurating the transformation of the South African economy is the diamond industry. This industry commenced operations when thousands of British citizens moved to South Africa in order to seek their fortune in the 1860s. This incentive resulted in rapid industrialization as they started diamond diggings in the British colony of South Africa due to the high probability of striking diamonds. This eventually led to the mining industry since the mining capitalists purchased the diggers as a joint-stock. The gold industry, started in 1886 and by 1899, it had produced about three-tenths of the world’s gold and had investments worth more than 100 million US as gold was used for the world’s currencies and was thus had a very big need for it everywhere. It also had a workforce greater than 100 thousand people thus creating employment for the society. Apart from the diamond mining and gold, the British who were farmers by profession played a big part in the agricultural industry of South Africa greatly as they planted rye, barley, and maize. The British traders played a significant role in growing the business sector of South Africa which

These initiatives are the Clean Diamond trade Act of 2003 and the Kimberley Process Certification

The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict diamond trade and reinforcing the Kimberley process1 and showing how it will stem the flow of conflict diamonds. This is successful mainly due to the public outburst after the movie. The great impact of the movie has caused diamond

The main ethical issue is the violence. The violence is can be ethical issue because no one have a rights to use violence for any matters include the government itself. There are authorities who have created laws to prevent bad situations from happening, and there is appropriate punishment. It is a common theme, the violence never solves anything. In blood diamond movie, large numbers of diamonds are mined ruthlessly and inhumanely. The movie is set in 1999 in Sierra Leone in West Africa, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces (Revolutionary United Front). Rival group also fight with each other control rich area with diamond. The

India is deemed to be the hub of the global jewellery market because of its low costs and availability of high-skilled labour. India is the world’s largest cutting and polishing centre for diamonds, with the cutting and polishing industry being well supported by government policies. Moreover, India exports 95 per cent of the world’s diamonds, as per statistics from the Gems and Jewellery Export promotion Council (GJEPC). The industry is projected to generate up to US$ 35 billion of revenue from exports in 2015.

The governments in the diamond industry have a lot of control what the companies can do. When mining diamonds many of land and resources are used. Governments have to take the interest of their people and also take into account what impact the diamond industry has on the local environment. In the country of Angola diamond mining has had a huge impact. Brilliantearth.com states “irresponsible diamond mining has caused soil erosion, led to deforestation, and forced local populations to relocate” (Brilliant Earth, n.d.). Governments also have to regulate labor laws for their country. In some countries diamonds are mined by small children in unsafe conditions. These responsibilities fall under the local government to protect the land from these mining companies. Local governments can write laws and regulations require diamond mining companies to take extra precautions in order to operate. This could require the diamond company to decide is it worth it to follow these regulations or find a cheaper place to mind