Responsible Indulgences

Diamonds are beautiful, and we all know that they are forever. But what do you do when your desire for some ice comes into conflict with the industry's horrendous trade and labor practices? Buying diamonds can be morally hazardous, but luckily for you and me there are some less egregious and even eco-friendly options.

The most well-publicized protest against the diamond industry takes issue with "conflict" or "blood" diamonds, which are defined by the U.N. as "rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance their military activities," primarily in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sierra Leone. Though there are 10,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces in Sierra Leone, the Rebel Army (RUF) has fought to control over three-quarters of the country and virtually every diamond mine in the region since 1991, including areas of neighboring Guinea. According to Physicians for Human Rights, the RUF has forced relocation of millions of Sierra Leoneans and committed serious human rights abuses that extend from rape to child soldiering and beyond. Amnesty International estimates that these rough 'conflict' diamonds make up about 10 percent of the world's diamond trade. In 2001 the Washington Post reported that Al Qaida brings in millions of dollars from illegal sales of diamonds mined by rebels in Sierra Leone.

The human cost

The diamond industry estimates that conflict diamonds make up 4 percent of the world's total, but others have claimed that the percentage is much higher: anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of the rough diamond trade.

Preventing the sale of "conflict" diamonds has been the objective of numerous campaigns since colonialism, and many of these have achieved considerable success, primarily in raising awareness of the issue. In May 2000, a group of African nations met in Kimberley, South Africa, to develop a process of certification for each diamond to ensure no civil conflict was aided by that diamond's production. After obtaining certification, no diamond would be allowed to travel across a national border without a certificate attached.

But there have been serious questions raised about the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), mainly because the process puts the onus on member nations themselves to certify diamonds and monitor borders without an independent outsider keeping an objective eye. Unsurprisingly there have been various reports of forged certificates, loose borders controls and faulty or inconsistent certification schemes, and many say that the process is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

Importing nations in North America and Europe have not participated officially in the Kimberly Process, but many have accepted its validity and support its policies in lieu of sponsoring their own certification schemes. In April 2003, President Bush signed the Clean Diamond Trade Act, requiring all diamonds entering the United States to bear a Kimberly Process Certificate. Yet, if the scheme itself is flawed, requiring their certification to enter the country is quite beside the point.

The environmental impact

The other major problem with the KPCS is that it applies sanctions only to the funding of armed conflict in certain areas, ignoring the environmental impact of diamond mining and the exploitation of miners, cutters and polishers who work in the industry. In the first place, traditional diamond mining is extremely taxing environmentally. Most diamonds are mined by excavating a known diamond-bearing "pipe." This process is called "open-pit" mining and employs hydraulic shovels to remove ore material. Hard rock is drilled and blasted so the material can be extracted, leaving mines that can be as large as a mile wide and 3,500 feet deep.

Open-pit mine in West Africa.