The Kimberley Process : A Model For Global Governance

The diamond industry impacts the people of West Africa by creating a whirlwind of corruption on a political level. In sierra Leone diamonds were a valuable part of the land and they were once legitimately sold up until Sierra Leone became independent in 1961. The following years of their independence corruption flooded the land. According to an online research paper it says “with that independence came corrupt leaders, manipulation of the people , rebel groups, rivalries and civil disputes”. The correlation implies that the diamond industry has created an environment that leaves people at risk of violence, and unfair treatment by their government. The longer the diamond industry is in effect, the longer West African people will suffer from the world market demanding diamonds. Because of globalization it doesn’t look

For centuries, diamonds have been regarded as one of the most valuable commodities in the world and the industry has evolved into billions of dollars. At the top, De Beers dominated the entire industry worldwide, from exploration to retail selling. However, it has a reputation of a monopolist, where it influences supply and demand. The two critical factors that De Beers carefully maintained throughout the century to remain in monopoly was to create the illusion of the scarcity of the diamonds and to keep the prices high. Realizing the benefits of the cooperation and the dangers of the oversupply, most

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.

Recently, rapper Kanye West raised the issue of conflict “blood” diamonds in his song “Diamonds” (featuring Jay-Z). Conflict diamonds — diamonds mined and traded by rebel groups — have been the source of murder and mutilation in the small, west-African country of Sierra Leone. In the song, West voices his own inner conflict with diamonds:

Human blood is shed on almost every diamond mined in Africa, bought from Africa, or traded out of Africa. In the beginning of Aryn Baker’s article “Dirty Diamonds” in TIME magazine, Baker presents a man conflicted with his decision to buy an engagement ring, because he does not want “. . . a symbol of our union to also be associated with chaos and controversy and pain.” (Baker 64). This man in the example, Max Rodriguez, undoubtedly knew of the backbreaking work that children are subjected to, to provide for their families or to raise money to receive an education. Baker argues that the diamond industry in Africa hinders the development of children, nations, and that this problem may be too large to control as she appeals to logic, evoking

This essay supports the statement “The price of diamonds is too high”. Diamonds have always been presumed to be rare. They have been present in history as a symbol of wealth and luxury as they were so difficult to find. Nowadays diamonds are mined and are found all over the world but they are sold through a cartel. (Epstein 1982) A cartel limits the supply of a product in order to keep prices high and to limit competition. (South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary: 2002) This raises the question of whether diamonds are actually worth their price. This essay focuses on the origins and the basic theory behind the diamond cartel; the early operation of the cartel; De Beers’ strong market campaign; determining De Beers’ current

This elucidates the idea that black market trading rarely benefits the economic status but different corrupt organizations. Businesses should find a way to properly trade legal diamonds, while benefiting the country’s economic system. Although the natural resources in some parts of Africa are rich, the people are extremely poor. In other words, Richman also states, "The great irony of this, and what concerns the industry most, is that the item is being sold as a part of a romantic, everlasting, and pure relationship, but there are a lot of ugly shadows that have contributed to the industry 's success." Industries must end their contribution to the blood diamonds that fuel this nation’s civil wars.

The De Beers Group of Companies established itself in the diamond industry in the late 1800’s and it was only a matter of time until De Beers owned virtually every diamond mine in South Africa. Diamond distributors joined up with De Beers because of similar interests: they wanted to create a scarcity of diamonds, so that high prices would follow. Eventually, De Beers would establish exclusive contracts with suppliers and buyers, making it impossible to deal with diamonds outside of De Beers. For the remainder of the 20th century, the business model was the same: A subsidiary of De Beers would buy the diamonds and De Beers would determine the amount of diamonds they wanted to sell, and at what prices. In turn, De Beers funneled all of the

The story of these infamous diamonds all started with a fifteen year old who found a diamond in his father 's arm. The diamond business started in 1935 when “De Beers” took all control over dining prospects in Sierra Leone. De Beers are a group of companies has a main role in the exploration of diamonds, as well as diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading, and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors.This group was founded in 1888, and they are responsible for the problems Sierra Leone is facing today. These diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes. Diamonds are a pure form of carbon in a transparent state. Diamonds have always been a sign of wealth. Historically kings and queens were known for wearing these. Over time many people began lusting over them.

Much of what I discovered in watching this film has helped me see things in a different light. Not just diamonds but every other product imaginable could’ve commenced the same chaos the diamonds caused in Africa. This commotion may not only happen in Africa but also in any other country. Innocent people like Solomon, who just wanted to live their life in a quiet environment, are dragged into the turmoil constructed by the greedy individuals who only see money and power as the most important things in this world. The fact that the rebels cut off the citizens’ arms so that they won’t be able to vote was very disturbing. They recognize the people’s power that’s why they had to prevent the citizens to vote, so that they could stay in power. The citizens have

I was quite turned off from Group B’s argument on these bases and their thematic approach which suggested that gold, a material good, was more precious and valuable than actual people and their sacred cultural practices. While I understand that this case study is comprised of fictitious issues based in a made up country, the knowledge of the human rights issues fixed around blood diamonds I acquired from our pre-class reading and quiz helped me to take a real world stance on people verses government in the case of natural resources. Prior to the Jacqueline Soloway reading and our class discussion, I was only vaguely aware of the political and economic conversations surrounding the mining of war diamonds. For quite some time I had known that a surplus of diamonds were harvested from the overworked hands of children and impoverished peoples, unfortunately I had no exposure to multiple government’s complacent or supportive roles in having people to mine for diamonds in unsafe, war torn territories. In my daily life I advocate for fair trade, therefore I would never knowingly perpetuate the atrocities of blood diamond mining by purchasing products that result from such human rights violations; because of this I practically knew my decision before I entered the lecture hall and either group presented. I did, however, want to hear both groups out in class and make the decision I felt

Not only does this issue involve the politics of the diamond trade and the involvement of outside parties, but it is also a devastatingly serious human rights violation to the civilians of Angola. “There is an average of 52 land mine incidents per month and approximately 1 out of every 356 Angolans is an amputee as a result of these bloody conquests”[4]. It was determined in a United Nations Security Council meeting that “there are clear and major weaknesses in systems for controlling diamond trading, which no single country can address effectively because of the many alternative routes available to illicit diamond traders”[5]. Therefore, in order to combat the civil fighting between UNITA and the MPLA, we must educate ourselves about UNITA’s diamond trade, prohibit the sale of blood diamonds, and achieve a commitment from diamond dealers that their diamonds originate from conflict-free mines.

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

Blood diamond are “diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council”. Blood Diamond is a story about the precious gem acquired through blood and sufferings of common people. How much blood is spilt for each pieces of this luxury, how many tears dried into the very ground it is gathered from. Except from the people that are involved in the whole process of stealing or smuggling a nation’s natural wealth. Sierra Leone, where the storyline takes place, gets nothing. Its people are suffering through extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and diseases. Adding insult to injury, there is a fast emerging brutal terrorist group called RUF, destroying the system, collapsing government, killing innocents and taking children as soldiers. Making sure the country never progress and prosper or never grow the backbone to stand on its feet ever to use the valuable diamonds it holds on the ground. For example, when the illegal and unethical blood diamond trade was brought to light, it was ignored by the most potentially influential global players because of economic interest. What resulted was that the situation snowballed over the duration that it has occurred over and when the issue finally came to a head

3. Description of the IMF Project to Help Africa Crack Down on Illicit Diamond Trade