What is a Blood Diamond?

Also known as conflict diamonds, A Blood Diamond is a diamond that was mined in a war zone that is sold most of the time to benefit war-torn areas especially in Central and Western Africa. United Nations defines a blood diamond 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 Security Council.”

Blood diamonds are mined on war sites, where many men where killed. Many people are trying to stop the sale of blood diamonds. Blood Diamond sales became big in the 1990's with the conflict of Sierra Leone. During this time frame in the 1990's the blood diamond sales made up an estimated 4% of all diamond sales around the world. Today due to sales being banned in some areas, and the Kimberley Process, these diamonds take up around an estimated 1% of the worlds diamond sales. This majority of this small percentage is made up of sales in the Republic of Congo who was suspended from the Kimberley Process, and Liberia and the Ivory coast who are under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions in hopes to stop the extraction and trading of these diamonds.

During July of 2000, the global diamond industry made their disposition of blood diamonds blatantly known all over the world. Highly concerned with abolishing the problem, they began to work very closely with the United Nations and other organizations in efforts stop the extraction and trading of blood diamonds. In 2003 in order to get closer to stopping sales and extraction of the diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certification was created. This system protects against blood diamonds entering the sanctioned diamond supply chain.

For more information on blood diamond and diamond mines please visit The Diamond Blog