Who benefits from Conflict Diamonds?

As we noted before, conflict diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold, usually secretively, to raise money to support insurgency or invasions. The human rights group Global Witness has even alleged that money from conflict diamonds was used by al Qaeda to finance the devastating attacks on the US of September 11, 2001, and we will explore this link in a future entry.

According to the United Nations, two other groups who have sold and profited from conflict diamonds are Uganda's UNITA rebel guerillas and the Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone. To make matters even worse, according to the UN, Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels receive their financing from the government of Liberia, who in turn raise money through the sale of conflict diamonds.

All in all, it should be clear that the proceeds from the sale of conflict diamonds benefit the forces of evil, and even if you're not particularly concerned about remote actions taking place in distant foreign countries, the known links between conflict diamond money and groups such as al Qaeda should give any American pause for thought.

Diamonds and Conflict

Diamonds have fascinated mankind since the dawn of recorded history. Diamonds have a unique combination of properties that have made them the world's most precious and sought-after gems. First of all, diamonds are extremely hard, making them useful in all sorts of industrial applications from sharpening to cutting. Second, they are beautiful to look at, and breathtaking to behold.

So how did these beautiful, almost magical stones come to be associated with conflict, bloodshed and genocide?

The answer to this riddle is an accident of geology and history. Diamonds occur naturally in many places around the world, but today almost half the world's diamonds come from central and southern Africa - areas that have been embroiled for many years in strife and conflict.

The African country of Sierra Leone is probably the best-known example of a troubled area that is rich in diamonds, and it should come as no surprise that it is a notorious source of conflict diamonds. Put simply, conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds or war diamonds, are diamonds that are sold to provide money for paramilitary groups and insurgents to continue their bloody campaigns of violence and intimidation.

In future entries, we will look at why and how this situation has happened, who benefits from it, who is being hurt by it, and what it means to you. Until then, if you are in the market for a diamond, you owe it to your conscience and to the millions of innocent people hurt in the crossfire to look for conflict-free diamonds.