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Background & Resources

You made a commitment. You promised that you would warranty diamonds as conflict-free. You said it was forever. Over 4 million people have died in diamond-funded conflicts. Diamonds have also financed terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. Under commitments made in 2003 through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), governments certify diamonds as conflict-free by setting up diamond control systems designed to eliminate "blood diamonds." The diamond industry agreed to police itself to support the Kimberley Process using a warranty system tracking diamonds from mines all the way to retail stores.

But now? Are Those diamonds from the Ivory Coast? You thought you wouldn't get caught. That I wouldn't find out. But I did. In 2005, the UN discovered diamonds are still funding conflict in Ivory Coast. Government controls are weak and poorly enforced, allowing blood diamonds to enter the legitimate trade. Research by Global Witness and Amnesty International in 2004 revealed that conflict-free warranties are rarely available with diamond purchases, and in 2006 that some blood diamonds are certified as conflict-free. Governments and industry betrayed the public's trust, by failing to live up to their commitments.

I don't want a diamond in the rough anymore. You made mistakes in the past, but you have one more chance to change. I want to see action. Now. If it happens again, I'll remember. Governments and industry must fix the flaws in the system, so that warranties and certificates aren't meaningless words on paper.

Read through this site to learn how a few minutes of your time can help end this tragedy. Forever.