The gnawing question remained: How should the diamond industry deal with conflict diamonds?
In May 2000, the government of South Africa proposed a plan to stop the traffic in conflict diamonds using a certification process that would give assurance that diamonds did not originate in areas controlled by forces trying to overthrow internationally recognized governments. By certifying that a diamond came from a legitimate origin, rebel bands would be unable to sell contraband diamonds and eventually be starved of the funds needed to perpetuate civil wars. This, it was hoped, would lead to peace in diamond-producing regions. It would also assure consumers that the diamonds they were buying were free of political taint. Called the “Kimberley Process” (after South Africa’s famous Kimberley diamond mine), the plan was adopted – in principle at least – by the United Nations in December 2000. It took two more years to work out the kinks and persuade 50 or so governments (one of them America) with either or both diamond processing and consumption sectors to sign on. In January 2003, th
