What Is Being Done to Stop Trade in Conflict Diamonds?
As a way to address this problem, the United Nation’s Security Council adopted resolutions which prohibited all countries from importing diamonds from Angola (rebel-held areas ) (in 1998), from Sierra Leone (in 2000), from Liberia (in 2001) and from Cote d’Ivoire (in 2005). In May 2000, Southern African diamond producing states met in Kimberley, South Africa, to come up with a way to stop the trade in conflict diamonds and to ensure consumers that the diamonds that they purchase have not contributed to violent conflict and human rights abuses in their countries of origin. The Kimberly Process In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. In November 2002, after nearly two years of negotiation, the efforts of governments, the international diamond industry and NGOs culminated in the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The KPCS outlines the provisio
