Blood Diamonds
by Chris Rogers
Backround of the issue
Blood Diamonds caught the world's eye in the exceedingly severe conflict in Sierra Leone. During the late 1990's, it's approximated that Blood Diamonds were 4% of the world's diamonds.
analysis of the cause of the conflict
The biggest cause of Blood Diamonds is the need for large sums of money to fuel wars. There are many different causes for these wars including ethnic and religious differences, political unstability, etc.
Countries involved
The countries involved are Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo.
statistical information
-At one time 4% of diamond production was for funding wars
- Now it is less than 1%
- 60 billion dollar industry
What has been done to resolve this
The Kimberley Process Certification System was formally adopted in 2003, this system gaurds against blood diamonds entering the authentic supply chain.
What else needs to be done
Another thing that can be done is that people at the retail level need to be concerned about where their diamonds come from.
Plan to address the problem
-survey diamond retailers
-inform people on subject
-encourage people to buy legitimate diamonds