| UN Backs Scheme to Block Blood Diamond Trade | 2 comments |
 25 Apr 2003 @ 00:31, by Raymond PowersUN Backs Scheme to Block Blood Diamond Trade NEW YORK, New York, April 15, 2003 (ENS) - The link between the illegal trade of rough diamonds and the use of diamond trade proceeds to fuel armed conflict was weakened today when the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in support of a global diamond certification process. The ongoing international process, the Kimberley Process, is aimed at detecting and preventing the trade in conflict diamonds, often called blood diamonds because of the numerous deaths resulting from the illegal trade. The Kimberley Process includes a negotiating procedure to establish minimum acceptable international standards for national certification covering the import and export of rough diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Illicit trade in the valuable stones has financed armed conflict aimed at overthrowing legitimate governments, and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the past 10 years. Conflict diamonds represent up to 20 percent of the annual world total diamond trade, and the diamond industry is taking part in the scheme in an effort to quell fears that diamonds for sale at the world's best jewelers may be blood diamonds. |