What Has Been Done to
Eliminate Conflict Diamonds?
In 1998, the United Nations placed Angola under sanctions forbidding countries from buying diamonds from them. This was the first resolution of the UN which specifically mentioned diamonds in the context of funding a war. Reports estimated that as much as 20% of total production in the 1990s were being sold for illegal purposes, and 15% were specifically conflict in nature. By 1999, the illegal diamond trade was estimated by the World Diamond Council to have been reduced to 3.06% of the world's diamond production.
In 2000, a coalition of governments, non-governmental organizations, and the diamond industry worked together to address this issue. In 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification System was established. This is a UN-backed process that has virtually eliminated the trade in conflict diamonds. Today over 99% of the world's supply of diamonds is from sources free of conflict.