Blood Diamonds

Since the many independent movements that started in the 1960s, much of the African continent devolved into chaos and civil war for the decades to come. Diamond-origin countries like the Congo, Angola & Zimbabwe were all at one point in major & bloody conflicts in the 20th century, and yet the diamonds from these countries continued to flow uninterrupted into Antwerp and other diamond exchanges. However, in the late 90’s the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone caught international attention, especially how diamond sales were used by both sides to directly fund the murderous conflict. Civilians were often forced at gunpoint to mine for diamonds and those who refused had their limbs severed by machetes. The civil war in Sierra Leone prompted the creation of the Kimberly Certificate Process, an effort to counter smuggled blood diamonds. The 2006 film starring Leonardo di Caprio, Blood Diamond, made the term a household phrase and brought to light the often problematic nature of diamond and gemstone sourcing.