Conflict Diamond Issues
« Previous Entries Next Entries »An Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day
Friday, February 13th, 2009Valentine’s Day is a classic occasion to celebrate loved ones with gifts of jewelry. Just make sure that your gift from the heart is ethical and environmentally responsible. Every day, millions of children and adults around the world are mining in horrendously unhealthful, poorly paid, and environmentally damaging conditions. In southern Africa diamonds are still [...]
Protest over Botswana Bushmen’s Land Rights
Friday, February 13th, 2009Human rights group Survival International hosted a protest yesterday outside of UK diamond purveyor Graff Diamonds’ flagship London store. The group has demanded that Graff Diamonds pull its stake in a new diamond mine in Botswana. The mine is situated on the land of the traditional Kalahari Bushmen, who have already been recently displaced and [...]
Diamond Fingerprinting Study
Friday, February 13th, 2009In spite of greater worldwide attention to diamond sourcing, smuggling is still a serious problem. In Southern African countries, in particular, many stones are still being illegally mined, smuggled, and sold to fund conflicts and corrupt government practices. In an effort to help reduce illegal mining and smuggling, South Africa’s national mineral research organization, Mintek, [...]
Brilliant Earth Donates to Stop Child Labor in Mines
Friday, January 30th, 2009Brilliant Earth is proud to announce our recent donation to the Diamond Development Initiative’s Tukudimuna Child Labor pilot program. The program works to get Congolese children out of diamond mines and into higher education and better economic opportunities. Our donation of $10,000 will sponsor the enrollment of 108 children, from the Democratic Republic of the [...]
Zimbabwe’s Soldiers Looting Diamonds
Friday, January 30th, 2009Following the Zimbabwean government’s recent violent removal of illegal miners in the country’s diamond fields, the soldiers sent to carry out the horrific purge have now themselves moved in to the diamond fields to continue the looting. The soldiers are even employing the same impoverished local villagers whom they drove away to work as veritable [...]
Zimbabwe’s Kimberley Process Status Investigated
Friday, January 23rd, 2009Zimbabwe is in danger of losing its Kimberley Process status as a source of conflict-free diamonds. The Kimberley Process was instated in 2003 to address the problem of conflict diamonds funding civil wars. The mass inquiry will address the extent of Zimbabwe’s control over its diamond exports and whether illegally smuggled stones are supporting Robert [...]
Poverty Leads to Diamond Violence in Zimbabwe
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Zimbabwe’s recent economic collapse has driven its poverty-stricken citizens to dangerous measures. Many people are illegally searching for diamonds in the country’s diamond fields, where they are regularly being killed by police. The country’s diamond mines are controlled by the government, which routinely routs and arrests or kills citizens in order to safeguard its diamond [...]
Kimberley Process Review Reveals Holes
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008Since its launch in 2003, the Kimberley Process of international diamond certification has prevented large quantities of conflict diamonds from entering consumer markets, but there is more work to be done. At the recent sixth annual meeting of the Kimberley Process, Partnership Africa Canada presented a report pointing to dangerous holes in the process. The [...]
Executive Order Prohibits Trade with Zimbabwe’s Minerals Marketing Corporation
Friday, August 1st, 2008President George W. Bush signed an executive order to expand sanctions against Zimbabwe. The executive order prohibits individuals and entities closely linked with President Robert Mugabe to operate with U.S. firms. It also forbids U.S. residents and businesses from conducting financial or commercial transactions with rough diamond supplier Minerals Marketing Corporation (MMC) of Zimbabwe, and [...]
Claims that Air Zimbabwe used flights to transport diamonds, ivory, and gold to Beijing in exchange for weapons
Friday, July 25th, 2008China Calls Air Zimbabwe Report a Malicious Rumor
RAPAPORT… China refuted The Age newspaper report out of Australia that claims Air Zimbabwe used flights to transport diamonds, ivory, and gold to Beijing in exchange for weapons.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao wrote in a statement, “The report proved to be malicious rumor.”