a really sad story which continues nowadays and will continue for many more if nothing drastic is made..
i would line to hear your opinions about this fact.
History
The United Nations (UN) in 1998 placed Angola under sanctions forbidding countries from buying diamonds from them. [3] This resolution was the first resolution of the UN which specifically mentioned diamonds in the context of funding war. In 1999 the illicit diamond trade was estimated by the World Diamond Council to have made up 3.06% of the world's diamond production.[4][5] By 2004 this percentage had fallen to approximately 1%. according to the World Diamond Council.[5]. Other estimates by Partnership Africa Canada have reported conflict diamonds as much as 15% of total production in the 1990s, with as much as 20% being sold for illicit purposes.[6]
Angola
Angola was a former colony of Portugal, and gained independence in 1975. Although independent, the country saw civil war between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) faction, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) faction. During this war, diamonds were traded by rebel groups to fund their war.[7] The UN recognized the role that diamonds played in funding the UNITA rebels, and banned countries from buying diamonds from Angola.[3] Today Angola’s civil war has ended and the country is now an arguably discrete part of the diamond trade. [7]
Sierra Leone
Blood Diamonds first came to the world's attention in the late 1990s, during the violent civil war in Sierra Leone. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels attempted to overthrow the government, and an illicit diamond trade was used to fund the war effort. As with Angola, the civil war has ended, and Sierra Leone is a legitimate part of the diamond trade.[7]
Liberia
From 1989 to 2003 Liberia was engaged in a civil war. In 2000, the UN accused Liberian president Charles G. Taylor of supporting the RUF insurgency in Sierra Leone with weapons and training for diamonds. In 2001 the UN applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August 2003 he stepped down as president, and after being exiled to Nigeria, now faces trial in the Hague. On July 21, 2006 he pleaded not guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes. [7]
Liberia today is at peace and is attempting to construct a legitimate diamond mining industry. However, UN sanctions have not yet been lifted. [7]
Ivory Coast
The Ivory Coast began to develop a fledgling diamond mining industry in the 1990’s. A coup overthrew the government in 1999, starting a civil war. The country became a route for exporting diamonds from Liberia and war torn Sierra Leone.[7][8] Foreign investment began to withdraw from the Ivory Coast. To curtail the illicit trade, the nation stopped all diamond mining, and the UN Security Council banned all exports of diamonds from the Ivory Coast in December 2005.[7]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) has suffered numerous civil wars in the 1990s, but has become a member of the Kimberley Process and now exports about 8% of the world's diamonds. [7]. De Beers' most celebrated and priceless diamond, the flawless D-colour 200-carat Millennium Star was discovered in the DRC and sold to De Beers during the height of the Civil War that took place in the early to mid-nineties.
Republic of Congo
The Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) faced UN sanctions in 2004 because despite having no official diamond mining industry, the country was exporting large quantities of diamonds, the origin of which it could not detail.[7]
U.S. policy
On January 18, 2001, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13194 which prohibited the importation of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone into the United States in accordance with the UN resolutions.[15] President Bush on May 22, 2001 issued Executive Order 13213 which banned rough diamond importation from Liberia into the United States. Liberia had been recognized by the United Nations as acting as a pipeline for conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone.[16]
United States enacted the Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) on April 25, 2003[17], and implemented on July 29, 2003 by Executive Order 13312[18] [19] . The CDTA installed the legislation to implement the KPCS in law in the United States. The implementation of this legislation was key to the success of the KPCS, as the United States is the largest consumer of diamonds. The CDTA states: 'As the consumer of a majority of the world’s supply of diamonds, the United States has an obligation to help sever the link between diamonds and conflict and press for implementation of an effective solution'[17]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_diamond#U.S._policy
cheers,
geo
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" H gis dn exei krikelia
gia na tin paroun ston omo kai na figoun
mhte boroun, oso k an einai dipsasmenoi
na glikanoun to pelago me nero miso drami."
Fwni kyriou epi twn ydatwn.
Nisos tis esti.
Salamina, kypros, noevris '53
SeferiS.
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When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. (Plato, Republic)
