Conflict diamonds have now inspired (at least) two articles by my fellow TH!NK3’er Brazilian Luan Galani.
Blood diamonds continue to be mined and sold from Marange (Zimbabwe) – which contains the largest known concentration of diamonds in the world – and find their way into jewellery stores worldwide. Kimberley Process is failing in its core mission of keeping blood diamonds out of international markets. Everything indicates that the beneficiaries of this diamond wealth are largely members of the military and officials in President Robert Mugabe’s inner circle. Even so, Kimberley Process members insist on not suspending Zimbabwe or banning the sale of its stones.
Diamonds: crime and punishment
As highlighted in my last post, the Kimberley Process (KP) is failing in its mission of keeping blood diamonds out of international markets. To demand far-reaching reforms of this international body first it is needed to better understand how it works and what the backdrop is. That will be my purposes with this post.