These diamonds are known to the world as the conflict diamonds or blood diamonds from a long time. Consensus eludes new definition for blood diamonds. Ending the democratic republic of the congo s multiple conflicts is the single most important task in improving the. When her brother is accused of stealing a diamond from the sadistic general mutambe, jillian is forced to go on the run. September 10, 2011 dr congo 7 comments 101,090 views coltan mining in the congo. Blood diamonds threat returns to africa washington times.
Memoirs of a boy soldier sarah chrichton books, 2007. Awardwinning journalist greg campbell traces the deadly trail of these. The congo free state was a corporate state privately controlled by leopold ii of belgium through the association internationale africaine, a nongovernmental organization. History of the democratic republic of the congo wikipedia. War and conflict minerals in the worlds deadliest place peter. Fighting has thought to have killed an estimated 5. Blood diamonds also called conflict diamonds, brown diamonds, hot diamonds, or red diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading armys war efforts, or a warlords activity. The definition of conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds, is discussed. Curious denial of large diamond recovery in dr congo. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Another horrific fact is that the ruf captured children and indoctrinated. A blood diamond or conflict diamond is one mined in a war zone and sold often to finance the continuation of the conflict by one or both of the warring. Buying white rough diamonds in the democratic republic of congo drc 8282012 84 comments rough diamond mining in the congo drc on saturday night i returned from a week in the drc. During and after the genocide, an estimated two million refugees, mostly hutu, poured over rwandas western border into the congo.
Diamonds intensify civil wars by financing militaries and rebel militias. Millions of congolese have perished, and over a million more have been. By mark dummett bbc correspondent in kinshasa president joseph kabila has dismissed the management committee of the democratic republic of congos state diamond mining company, miba. Coltan is a conflict mineral in nearly every cell phone, laptop, and electronic device. Smillies book is a fascinating read about the world of diamonds, war and greed.
Despite an international agreement in 2003 to end the war in the democratic republic of congo and two further agreements at the beginning of 2008 to end fighting in north kivu and south kivu provinces, the drc remains a combat zone. The miba is an organization which is owned by the state, but one fourth of the investment is given by the foreign firms such as sibeka. The latest news from africa includes the release of new movie about sierra leones diamond trade blood diamond and a milestone inaugural in the democratic republic of congo. Blood diamonds is an amazing book, filled with detail and stark commentary but, more than that, presenting a story of contemporary times in a small african country that most of us didnt know. Dr congo is potentially one of the richest countries on earth, but colonialism, slavery and corruption have turned it into one of the poorest, writes historian dan snow. Blood diamonds on the high street in 2003 the united nations introduced the kimberley process certification scheme kpcs to certify that diamonds are conflict free. Players build industries and expand a transport network of river, rail and roads.
Drcongo explores a hopeful hypothesis that if enlightened industrialists worked to develop the economy of this mighty country, then it would escape the clutches of a crippling insurgency. Tracing the deadly path of the worlds most precious stones about the author peter eichstaedt is a veteran journalist who has reported from locations worldwide, including afghanistan, albania, somalia, the sudans, uganda, kenya, eastern dr congo, eastern europe, and the caucasus. A miner, a trafficker, an undertaker, and a prostitute offer an insight into life in the democratic republic of congo. Although i was wary of the distasteful undertone of the books premise tim butcher follows in the path of stanleys 187477 expedition from lake tanganyika to and down the congo river, blood river reveal itself to be a stunning and pertinent eyewitness account of the chaos consuming present day dr congo. Since the 1870s, most of the worlds gemquality diamonds have been mined in africa.
Warlords, soldiers, and child laborers all toil over a mineral youve never even heard of. The war officially ended in july 2003, when the transitional government of the democratic republic of the. The diamond production map above shows countries with at least 50,000 carats of natural gemquality diamond production. In recent years, diamond miners from the neighboring democratic republic of the congo have been streaming into northeast angola to mine for diamonds. The democratic republic of the congo formerly zaire has suffered numerous looting wars in the 1990s, but has been a member of the kimberley process since. Similar to campaigns about blood diamonds in connection to conflicts in west africa, the term conflict minerals became somewhat synonymous. Conflict diamonds made famous in movie blood diamonds are mainly excavated in angola, dr congo, sierra leone, republic of congo, central african republic and cameroon. The controversy surrounding blood diamonds was brought to light in the 1990s with civil wars in sierra leone, angola, the republic of congo, and liberia. This is why the blood diamonds in africa are raising many questions and other countries political involvement. Heart of diamonds is a highconcept romantic thriller about blood diamonds in. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
Many of the african countries, which are called developing and under developed nations, have plenty of natural resources which can turn around their economy and make them into developed countries. Interactive, searchable map of all mining concessions in the democratic republic of the congo, based on cadastre minier cami data, july 27, 2010. Curious denial of large diamond recovery in dr congo the. Conflict diamond mining in the democratic republic of the congo and the effects of the kimberley process certification scheme. The latest conflict in its troubled history has left over two million peoplealmost half the populationin urgent need of humanitarian assistance, and displaced nearly one in five. Blood diamond by riley quinn grabbed me from the first line and never let go. Blood on the stone international development research centre. First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of sierra leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. Similarly, it is potentially one of the richest countries in the world.
Ending the democratic republic of the congos multiple conflicts is the single most important task in improving the. During peace talks held in early 2002 aimed at ending the conflict in the drc. Unlike diamonds, however, there is little publicity, and thus little movement to cut off the market for this blood gold. The congo possesses 80 percent of the worlds coltan. In recent years the obscure mineral coltangeological name columbite tantalitehas become widely known and politicised for being closely connected with the violence of armed groups in the eastern democratic republic of congo drc. However, congo has its fair share of political instability, it. James is a dedicated doctor working with doctors without borders.
Buying white rough diamonds in the democratic republic of. Diamonds have funded brutal wars in countries such as angola, central african republic, the democratic republic of congo, liberia, and sierra leone, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people. Car is one of the poorest and most fragile states anywhere in the world. Since 1998, fighting in the democratic republic of congo has been prolonged as a consequence of the countrys vast mineral reserves, which includes diamonds, gold, tungsten, tin and coltan. I just recently heard about a really disturbing topic. In congo, a new twist on blood diamonds warring militias are stealing cows to perpetuate a conflict sparked by spillover from the 1994 rwandan genocide. Despite an eboli outbreak and the violence and military problems in the east of the country, the capital city kinshasa was quiet and serene. Focusing on conflict diamonds and drawing on recent international rela tions works and geographical. These conflict diamonds come from mines all over the african continent, from countries such as liberia, congo, angola, sierra leone, and more. Mining concessions in the dr congo, international peace information service. Jon land is the author of four previous novels in this series, pillars of solomon, walls of jericho, a walk in the darkness and keepers of the gate. Sierra leone, liberia, angola, the republic of congo, cote divoire, the central african republic, and the democratic republic of congo. Bloody conflicts in dr congo, liberia, ivory coast and sierra leone have all been partly funded by the sale of blood diamonds. The diamonds they smuggle from the dr congo will subsequently be difficult to sell, he said.
Inside the democratic republic of congos diamond mines. Last year, the country produced about 20 million carats, down from 29 million carats in 2006, according to central bank. These resources include gold, platinum, diamonds, iron ore and uranium. According to the website, diamonds that are mined in the war zones of west africa in order to finance an insurgents war efforts are referred to as conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds, because of the human sacrifice that is paid for the sale of the gems 1. And the most disturbing part about it is that we all have blood in our hands. The state included the entire area of the present the democratic republic of the congo. Global witness was the first organisation to bring the worlds attention to this problem. Democratic republic of congo amnesty international usa. One of such nation is congo with plenty of diamond deposits all round the country. The dr congo was the secondlargest producer of natural industrial diamonds in the world and accounted for about 5.
I thought back to what was happening in my life in 1999 and 2000. These blood diamonds are smuggled out of west africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in london, antwerp, and new york, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Tracing the deadly path of the worlds most precious stones. On 23 june 2011, at kinshasa in the democratic republic of congo drc, civil society delegates staged a dramatic walkout. Diamonds have fuelled the conflict in the congo drc, the bloodiest war since wwii. Diamond mining in the democratic republic of the congo grin. Kimberley process authorities have sought to implement a storage and marking system to address difficulty that officials are having in preventing blood diamonds from blending with legal gems. Mr nkere added that rwanda and uganda will not be able to provide such certification. Guard at an illegal diamond mine in angola during the. The democratic republic of the congo has a vast resource of minerals under its mountainous terrain that presently brings in large sums of money in the millions of dollars so much so that individuals, companies, and countries have risked everything to enter the dr congo legally and illegally in order to mine out these materials and sell them on. Congos electronic blood diamonds john norris opinion. Oil, minerals and crops are produced and if sold via the atlantic port of matadi, players reap rich rewards. Conflict minerals, rebels and child soldiers in congo.
The countries involved in the illicit trading of blood diamonds include angola, the democratic republic of congo, liberia, and sierra leone. The history of african blood diamonds sierra leone sierra leone is a country in west africa which is bordered by guinea on the north and liberia on the south, with the atlantic ocean on the west of this. Between 2002 and 2006, miba produced an average of 6 million carats of diamonds per year, but operational difficulties have reduced its production to around 500,000 carats a year now. The kpcs defines conflict diamonds as those which are funding rebel armies in areas of conflict. Since the second congo war 19982003 which involved nine countries and 20 armed groups, and left over five million dead and two million displaced the dr congo has continued to endure violence perpetrated by dozens of rebel groups. The democratic republic of congo is extremely rich in natural resources. Like diamond miners in other african countries, gold miners in the democratic republic of congo are paid low wages and the work is dangerous. Mining industry of the democratic republic of the congo. The second congo war also known as the great war of africa or the great african war, and sometimes referred to as the african world war began in the democratic republic of the congo in august 1998, little more than a year after the first congo war, and involved some of the same issues.
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