Blood Diamonds

Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds. The trade in illicit gems, known as “blood diamonds”, funded conflicts, & perpetuated the civil war. The government has attempted to crack down on cross-border diamond trafficking.

In 2000 the UN Security Council imposed a worldwide ban on the export of diamonds from Sierra Leone, where the trade helped to pay for weapons used in the civil war.

The embargo intended to crack down on the illegal trade in diamonds exported through neighbouring countries which had funded the campaign of the Revolutionary United Front rebels (RUF) in the east of the country.

The measure prohibited the export of all diamonds except those whose origin is certified by the government in Freetown.

So-called “blood diamonds” from Sierra Leone are making some people’s lives a misery

UN ambassador Jeremy Greenstock

It was proposed by the UK, and the British Ambassador at the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who said the system would make it more expensive and more difficult for traders to deal in illicit diamonds from Sierra Leone which some people, he said, called ‘blood diamonds.’

bbc.co.uk July 2000

Today though, diamond exports, and the exploitation of other mineral reserves, have helped to bouy the post-conflict economy.

Diamonds were first found in Sierra Leone in the 1930’s and since then they have caused nothing but greed, savagery and war. The ‘banning’ of blood diamonds, or the attempted control was part of a UN led campaign.

Many thousands of innocent people were killed and injured in ensuing wars in Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries.

Back at the beginning of the 1990’s the rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) tried to overthrow the government , trying to say that they wanted to tackle corruption.

In actual fact they enslaved thousands of their own people, treating them worse than animals, they were run by people who only wanted power and greed and the diamonds. The ritually hacked off peoples limbs for the slightest reason.

Courtesy of: Asociated Press

Individuals and diamond merchants need to be absolutely clear they are not buying conflict diamonds or ‘blood diamonds’ as this trade is killing thousands of innocents. Sierra Leone is not the only country this applies to. Many countries across the world are guilty of this and it is the Western countries and consumers that have been buying the diamonds.

The film ‘Blood Diamond’ starring Leonardo Dicaprio brought a lot of welcome attention to this problem:

As discussed before, Sierra Leone is widely accepted as having the highest quality natural diamonds in the world. Slowly but surely this country is being turned around by the President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Mr Koroma promised zero tolerance on corruption in his inaugural speech. He also said he’d fight against the mismanagement of state resources.

Koroma’s All People’s Congress (APC) also won a majority in parliamentary elections held in August 2007.

Ernest Bai Koroma is a 54-year-old insurance broker and says he wants to run Sierra Leone like a business concern.

His predecessor Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is credited with bringing in foreign help to rescue the country. Mr Kabbah stepped down in August 2007 after serving two terms in office.

If properly managed these natural resources, along with Sierra Leone’s other natural resources can bring peace and prosperity to the country, that is the hope.