It took years of dedicated and courageous work on the part of eyewitnesses, journalists and organizations like Amnesty International, Partnership Africa-Canada, Global Witness and Oxfam to call the world’s attention to the crisis of blood diamonds. Growing awareness led to demand for change in the diamond trade, resulting in The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which was established on November 5, 2002.

The Kimberley Process is a self-regulating agreement between the nations that export diamonds and participating governments to implement legislation “to monitor effectively the trade in rough diamonds in order to detect and to prevent trade in ‘conflict diamonds.’” To support this, the international diamond industry agreed to a voluntary system of warranties to ensure that diamonds continue to be tracked right up to the point of sale.

From November 6 – 9, 2006, in Gaborone, Botswana, the Kimberley Process undertook a formal three-year review to evaluate how effectively it is working and to identify ways in which to further strengthen the Scheme. Decisive action on this review is crucial to ensure that the KPCS evolves into an effective certification system that brings about an end to diamonds fueling conflict.

The watchdog organizations do not deny that the Kimberley accords have improved the situation. Nevertheless, Zwick proposes, “Even now, it’s a very difficult circumstance to try to control. We are not telling people to stop buying diamonds, but we need consumers to insist on seeing the warranty of the diamonds they buy. The Kimberley Process came about because of heightened public awareness. If this movie succeeds in increasing that awareness, it will hopefully strengthen a process that needs to be greatly strengthened.”

The Fifth “C” For Consumers

Diamond buyers are told to consider the “4 Cs” when selecting a diamond: color, cut, clarity and carat weight. But there is one more “C” to ask about before making a purchase. It stands for Conflict.

Amnesty International and Global Witness have a pamphlet to help consumers ensure that diamonds never again fund conflict. When shopping for diamond jewelry, they can ask the salesperson four questions to find out what the retailer is doing to help prevent the trade in conflict diamonds:

• How can I be sure that none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds? • Do you know where the diamonds you sell come from? • Can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds? • Can you show me a written guarantee from your diamond suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict-free? The salesperson should be only too pleased to help. If they aren’t, a consumer can try somewhere else…and tell them why.

Tragically, the crime of children being seized and turned into child soldiers continues unabated on a global scale, as demonstrated by a recent news story out of Sri Lanka reporting that thousands of young boys are being taken from their families in sweeps of entire neighborhoods.

At last report, there are an estimated 400,000 child soldiers in the world today.