Conflict Diamond Facts

Violence

Even though many brutal civil wars have now ended, violence in diamond mines remains a serious problem. Many diamonds are still stained by severe human rights abuses such as forced labor, beatings, torture, and murder.

Labor

Many of the world's diamonds are harvested using practices that exploit workers, children, and communities. A million diamond diggers in Africa earn less than a dollar a day, causing widespread poverty and community suffering. Artisanal miners work in highly unsafe conditions, often without training, safety equipment, or proper tools.

Environment

Due to poor planning and weak regulation, diamond mining has caused environmental devastation, severely damaging the land and water. This irresponsible mining has caused soil erosion and deforestation, and has forced local communities to relocate. In extreme cases, diamond mining can cause entire ecosystems to collapse.

Flaws in the Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process claims to have solved the problem of conflict diamonds, but it systematically ignores human rights abuses, worker exploitation, and environmental degradation. It does not require diamonds to be traced to their mine of origin, allowing smuggled rough diamonds to obtain "conflict free" certification and enter world markets.

Jewelers that offer “conflict free” diamonds are limiting themselves to the Kimberley Process’s definition, which narrowly defines conflict diamonds as rough diamonds used to finance wars against governments. What this definition leaves out is large numbers of diamonds that are tainted by violence, human rights abuses, poverty, environmental degradation, and other issues.