(18 Sep 2000) E
English/Nat
Diamonds was a lady’s finest buddy.
Nonetheless in the present day, with Western diamond-buying nations attempting to cease the entry of so-called “blood” or “soiled diamonds” onto the market, the glowing gems have turn into a political minefield.
Civil wars in international locations like Angola and Sierra Leone are believed to be funded largely by income from diamonds.
Now specialists from all over the world, together with war-torn Sierra Leone are to fulfill in South Africa on Tuesday (September 19) to thrash out methods of fixing the thorny issues linked with the commerce in diamonds
It’s the commerce in these allegedly illicit diamonds that American lawmakers and the European Union amongst others try to curb.
Now specialists from all over the world, together with war-torn Sierra Leone are scheduled to fulfill in South Africa this week to thrash out methods of fixing the thorny issues linked with the commerce in diamonds
It’s estimated that about six p.c of the world’s diamonds are within the fingers of Angola’s insurgent Unita motion.
This determine helped a current European Union resolution to impose new diamond-related sanctions on the insurgent group.
And the United Nations’ ban on the import of diamonds from Sierra Leone is gathering help.
Smugglers are believed to be shifting huge quantities of diamonds from international locations like Angola and Sierra Leone, via neighbouring states and on to European diamond centres like Antwerp in Belgium the place 85 p.c of the world’s tough diamonds are traded.
The World Diamond Congress has imposed a bundle of measures to trace diamonds from the mines to the jewellers shops.
In the USA a bunch of lawmakers are presently attempting to get Congress to go a legislation requiring proof of origin of all diamonds bought on world markets.
One suggestion is that diamonds be bought in sealed containers with a certificates of origin.
At it is assembly in July, the World Diamond Congress supported a system of certification.
Some argue that such controls may inflict important financial injury on diamond-producing international locations resembling South Africa.
De Beers diamond firm which controls greater than half of the world’s diamonds, claims it’s nearly unattainable to inform the place a diamond is originated.
Johannesburg diamond service provider Max Barker agrees.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“The query is, are you able to inform the supply of tough stones and you may’t. Not, not as a rule you possibly can’t. You possibly can’t. As I say you might need a suspicion however you possibly can’t. It isn’t like a motor automobile or a wrist watch or one thing which, it is you recognize … there are methods and technique of discovering out the origin, with a tough diamond, it’s extremely tough.”
SUPERCAPTION: Max Barker, Managing Director, Diamond Provide Company
Establishing and imposing a certification system for the $6-billion-a-year business can be at finest tough to manage.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“In a single month there may be most likely tens of millions of stones being bought worldwide or most likely a whole bunch of tens of millions traded worldwide each month. I imply, how? Initially you do not know the supply of the stone and secondly in the event you did how are you going to manage it?”
SUPERCAPTION: Max Barker, Managing Director, Diamond Provide Company
However shoppers are beginning to ask the place their diamonds come from. Gone are the times when the easy act of shopping for an engagement ring was simply an costly, however romantic gesture.
These days footage of victims of wars in African international locations awash with minerals are beginning to elevate questions. Will the easy buy of a diamond assist end in additional massacres?
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