HIDDEN ROLE OF DIAMOND TRADE IN ARMED CONFLICTS OF AFRICA
SYEDA BEENA BUTOOL*

INTRODUCTION

Blood Diamonds or Conflict Diamonds
Human attraction to gems especially that of diamonds usually blinds us off the gloomy realities present behind all the gleam and glitter. A pure thing as a diamond could also have stains of blood on it. Most diamond trade is that of the legitimately produced diamonds yet 5% (and some even raise it up to 15%) of them comes from areas of armed conflicts in Africa. The rebel groups that have control over these rich diamond mines use the diamonds as a war currency for paying off their bills for arms purchases. That is what keeps these brutal groups sustain the civil wars, committing the worst atrocities on the civilian population. That is why human rights groups have started labeling such diamonds with slogans of “Blood Diamonds” or “Conflict Diamonds”.

Network of Conflict Diamonds
The ever-profiting diamond mines are helping wage civil wars throughout Africa in a spill over effect. It is a well-tailored attire that drapes one country and then connects it to another. Major conflicting countries are Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia and Guinea. In all these places, illegal diamond mining is helping rebel groups finance their armed wars against their governments. Various countries inside the region as well as outside are aiding the rebel groups and benefiting from diamonds and mining rights in return.

In Sierra Leone the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is in combat with the Sierra Leone government. Also, they have captured the richest diamond mines in the country. Diamonds mined in by RUF are exported through neighboring Liberia which is believed to have made $290 million in smuggled diamonds. Liberia’s own production capacity is much lesser therefore, diamonds sold by Liberia, must come from outside sources. Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, is believed to be covertly supporting the RUF. He has helped the RUF obtain foreign arms and military training in return for diamonds mined. Apart from Liberia, Burkina Faso is also aiding RUF rebels by making available its airports to various arms groups who supply them arms. Conflict has recently spread into neighboring Guinea. Home to refugees from civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone; it has become a target of the RUF. Both Guinea and Liberia have conducted cross border raids on each other’s territory. Guinea is also a transit route for conflict diamonds mined by the RUF.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war has drawn in military forces from neighboring states. The main warring factions are government and the rebel forces, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movement that occupies much of the eastern portion of the state which is rich I diamond mines. These countries have their own interest in sharing the wealth that can be reaped from diamond mining in those areas. In the Southern African country of Angola, there has been war between the government and UNITA. UNITA began a major mining operation that made them the richest rebels in Africa. Diamond money paid for UNITA offensives that in the 1990s elevated Angola’s civil war to a new plateau of savagery, killing more than half a million, displacing 4 million, and maiming 90,000 as a result of land mines.

Multi Nationals involved
Across Africa, foreign firms are fueling wars in a bid to win cheap access to diamond fields. Leading Diamond brand DeBeers has a long involvement with conflict diamonds in the war zones of Africa. In Sierra Leone crisis De Beers maintained a diamond trading company in Liberia, even though De Beers acknowledged that Liberia was seen as a transit country for smuggled diamonds. In Angola, the MPLA concluded an agreement with De Beers in 1990 that gave them total rights to all diamonds mined in Angola. In return for this De Beers hired hundreds of South African mercenaries to guard legitimate diamond production mines against UNITA’s attack. Along with this, De Beers also continued to buy diamonds from UNITA’s group in an effort to acquire them before they left the country and flooded the international market.

In Congo, US Department of State’s Fact Sheet claims that: “The government-owned Zimbabwe Defense Industries (ZDI) has profited considerably from the DROC conflict. ZDI provided about 4250 million worth of arms to the ADFL (the Kabila-led armed force) during its 1996-97 campaign against Mobutu. The DROC reportedly will repay ZDI with revenues from future mineral production”

In 1995, Sierra Leone’s then military government hired a South African firm, Executive Outcomes. It brought in a few hundred fighters, most of whom were veterans of the South African army, who defeated the RUF. While Sierra Leone paid Executive Outcomes to fight the rebels, the government also awarded diamond mining rights to Branch Energy, a firm linked to Executive Outcomes through cross-ownership among a group of former South African and British military officers.

Individuals involved
The spoils have also encouraged the involvement in the conflict of a number of prominent foreigners: A retired South African army officer, Fred Rindle, has provided training to Taylor’s forces, the RUF and to UNITA rebels in exchange of diamonds. Rindle, who also helped arm UNITA rebels in Angola, is also exporting diamonds from Liberia. A Ukrainian businessman, Leonid Minin, has supplied arms to Taylor and the RUF also deals in arms and diamonds. Morgenstern, the Rex Mining executive, and the company’s Belgium-based president, Serge Muller, set up a company to sell weapons to the Sierra Leone government, which has granted Rex several diamond mining leases.

Role of NGOs
NGOS such as Amnesty International, Fatal Transactions and Action Aid have worked vigorously to stop this illicit trade of diamonds. They have launched campaigns about “conflict diamonds” and have awakened people about this issue. They have called for a boycott of companies as well as countries involved in conflict diamonds. This campaign has pressurized governments as well as companies like DeBeers to evolve mechanisms that can stop this trade yet protect the legitimate diamonds trade.

Kimberley Process
The world’s diamond dealers are proceeding with UN backed Kimberley Process. Over 50 diamond producing, trading and marketing countries have joined the voluntary scheme of a global certification system that will require all diamond shipments from one country to another to be accompanied by a government-backed certificate of origin. An auditable chain of warranties will track rough diamonds as they move from importers to cutting factories, or to points of re-export. This way it can be tracked whether the diamond is from a conflict zone or a non-conflicting zone. Participants are also barred from trading with non participants.

Loopholes
Lack of regular, independent monitoring leaves huge loopholes for conflict diamonds to continue to enter the trade Unethical members of the diamond industry will take advantages of these loopholes, slipping conflict diamonds into the legitimate trade and continuing to make huge profits trafficking in conflict diamonds.

Positive Effects of the campaign
Without illicit profits from the digging of diamonds in the mostly alluvial fields of Angola, Congo, and Sierra Leone, civil wars would be difficult to sustain. As the rebels of UNITA have in recent months lost authority in many of Angola’s diamondiferous areas, their available cash ha\s shrunk, and attacks on government forces have slowed. In Sierra Leone, rebels have no longer sole control over the diamond fields. That country’s long running war has thus largely ended, although some combat has moved into neighboring Guinea (which also has diamonds) and Liberia. Moreover companies are seriously trying to clean up their act since they view it “in their own interest” to clear up their image before their consumers.

Future of Conflict Diamonds
Certain countries are opposing these mechanisms or are very indifferent to them. This gives room for conflict diamonds to be easily mixed with usual supply. The loopholes and inappropriate municipal legislations of several countries like Belgium, Israel and India give a breathing space to this trade. However, the entire campaign against conflict diamonds is very vocal in changing the people’s perceptions about diamonds and has guided them as to how they can shield innocent lives by boycotting such trade. The changing public opinion stands as a ray of hope in the purification of the blood stained glisten of conflict diamonds.

REFERNCES
1. “Conflict diamonds aren’t forever”- Robert I. Rotberg director of the Kennedy School’s Program on Intrastate Conflict, and president of the World Peace Foundation.
2. ‘Global diamonds are flawed”- Ian Smillie, research coordinator with the Ottawa-based Partnership Africa Canada, a member of the UN Security Council expert panel on Sierra Leone looking at diamonds and weapons in 2000 .
3. “Diamond Hunters Fuel Africa’s Brutal Wars” –James Rupert Washington Post\Foreign service[htp;//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/oct99.sierra16.htm
4. www.kimberleyprocess.com
5. “Dealers to outlaw conflict diamonds” – Andrew Osborn, Antwerp, The Guardian
6. “Conflict Diamonds” from Andrew Alden [http:geology.about.com/cs/conflict_minerals]
7. “Diamonds. De Beers and Destruction’-Laurent Crenshaw[http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/war_peace/africa_struggles_with_slavery_colonialism_and_hiv_aids/lcrenshaw.html]
8. “Countries Adopt Monitoring Process For Conflict Diamonds’-UN Wire[www.unwire.org]
9. “Controls on Conflict Diamonds’-BBC News[http;//news.bbc.co.uk.com]
10. ‘Diamonds: A War’s Best Friend”-CBS News[http://cbsnews.com/stories/2001/06/14/eveningnews/main296716.shtml]
11. “Blood Diamonds Are Forever’ –[http;//www.onesky.ca/diamonds/about.html]
12. “Diamonds and Armed Conflict: The Illicit Trade In Conflict Diamonds”-[http;//www.humansecurity.gc.ca/conflictprev_diamonds-en.asp]
13. “Conflict Diamonds’-Religious Action Centre For Reform Judaism [http://www.rac.org/issues/issued.html]

* Student, B.A (Hons) IIIrd Year, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.

All content (C) Department of International Relations, Karachi University

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