Potential Pitfall: Retailers don't consider many human rights abuses when defining conflict free.

One often-cited definition is the nearly ten year old UN definition of conflict diamonds as diamonds "that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the UN Security Council". This strictly defines conflict diamonds as diamonds used to fund civil war against recognized governments, but ignores other human rights abuses.

Potential Pitfall: Any definition of conflict free that relies only on the Kimberley Process is inadequate.

The Kimberley Process, the most well-known effort to regulate the conflict diamond trade, only addresses the narrow UN definition of conflict diamonds and does nothing to address other human rights violations including child labor, state sanctioned violence, and worker exploitation. Sadly, violent groups across the world continue to exploit the loose controls of the Kimberley Process to traffic illicit diamonds for profit. To date, the Kimberley Process has ignored abuses in cutting and polishing centers, including child labor and safety hazards.