Conflict and competition for diamond resources in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia

Diamond Wars in Western Africa

Throughout Western Africa, the quest for diamonds has taken control of many of people and affected the stability of economic and governmental status throughout the nation. The diamond mines have caused civil wars, which have resulted in many casualties over the years.

Possibly the major cause of the diamond wars is human nature, as it is human nature that sparks the desire to own diamonds. Due to the amount of people who are seeking diamonds and the limited resources of the mineral, the diamond market has become a major source of conflict in Western Africa.

Throughout Western Africa, rebel groups have formed in an effort to gain control over diamond mines in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The Diamond Wars have destroyed these areas, which could potentially become well-developed nations if the conflicts did not exist. While countries like Botswana and Namibia are using diamonds properly to stimulate their economies, rebel groups in Western Africa are preventing these nations from doing so.

Throughout Africa, diamonds are the main natural resource. Diamond mines are usually controlled by either rebel groups or by the government. In addition to these groups, groups of natives are often found scouting the countryside for diamonds, which they sell on the black market.

The majority of the world has little knowledge of how important diamonds are to many African nations and how much the international demand for diamonds has affected these areas. Many countries in Africa rely on diamonds to stabilize their economy.

Perhaps the countries most affected by diamonds are Western Africa nations, including

Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which are in the midst of a civil war created by the competition for diamonds.

Competing for Diamonds

In many Western and middle African nations, the control of diamond mines is a major economic issue. "Due to the abundance of petroleum and diamond reserves, Angola could potentially be a wealthy nation, but remains undeveloped due to decades of war." Angola is one of the most conflicted regions in Africa today.

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), a rebel group, has been in constant conflict with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) for about twenty years.

These two groups have created a civil war in Angola as both groups fight for control of the country. As a result, the country is covered in land mines that kill many innocent people on a daily basis. Still UNITA refuses to relinquish diamond mines to the MPLA government and the country remains in a dangerous civil war.

There are many Western African countries with similar problems with diamond wars. One of the most crucial problems exists in Sierra Leone, which is in the midst of a diamond war. "Between 1991 and 1999, the war claimed over 75,000 lives, caused half a million Sierra Leoneans to become refugees, and displaced half of the country's 4.5 million people."

While the conflict in Angola is mainly over control of the government, the quarrel in Sierra Leone is mainly caused by money. "The point of the war may not actually have been to win it, but to engage in profitable crime under the cover of warfare." Up until the 1980's, DeBeers, the largest diamond company in the world, was directly involved with Sierra Leone's diamond trade.

In the 1980's, the company removed all of its Sierra Leone offices, dealing with the country's diamond industry indirectly. This indirect connection involves smuggling diamonds out of Sierra Leone and into other countries that do business directly with DeBeers. The diamonds are then marketed internationally and sold to people of other nations.

Another example of an economy that has been economically hampered by the diamond wars is Liberia, which is also engaged in a diamond-induced civil war. The Liberian government has been accused of taking part in many illegal operations dealing with the diamond industry.

Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, stands accused of supporting rebel groups over the years. Taylor has been accused of trying to gain from the civil war in Sierra Leone. "The United States has threatened to impose sanctions against Liberia for allegedly helping to transfer arms across its border to Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in exchange for diamonds." Taylor denied these accusations.

According to research, "the years of fighting coupled with the flight of most businesses has disrupted formal economic activity. A still unsettled domestic security situation has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country."

The civil war in Sierra Leone started in 1989 when The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), led by Charles Taylor, invaded Liberia to gain control of diamond mines, killing many innocent civilians. Many native Liberians fled their home country to find safety. The civil war resulted in mass chaos and many problems for Liberia.

Over 10% of the population, mostly innocent civilians were murdered; about three-quarters of the population became either refugees or displaced people; out of the 60,000 rebel fighters that were recruited by the warlords, about 60% were "child soldiers," and most of them are now suffering from "drug addiction,"- and "posttraumatic stress syndrome;" and women and girls were reported to have suffered the most: they were raped and murdered with impunity by all the warring factions."

Fighting the Rebels

In many Western African nations, rebel forces have often used rough diamond reserves to finance arms purchases. They use other countries as trading and transit posts for their conflict diamonds. Once diamonds are brought to market, difficult to trace their origin and distinguish them from legitimate diamonds. This process has enabled the rebel groups to continue to make money from diamonds.

Many key players have become involved in ending the diamond wars, including world governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, diamond traders, financial institutions, arms manufacturers, social and educational institutions and other civil society players. Human rights groups have continually encouraged these players to combine their efforts, demand the strict enforcement of sanctions and encourage peace in Africa.

The massive destruction of the diamond wars in Sierra Leone has especially heightened the international community's awareness of the need to cut off sources of funding for the rebels, namely diamonds, in an effort to create peace in these countries.

The international diamond industry has resolved to block conflict diamonds from reaching market. Another key effort has been the launching of an inclusive, global consultation process of world governments, industry and civil society, referred to as the Kimberly Process, to develop an effective response to the problem of conflict diamonds.

The United Nations Charter says that targeted sanctions have been applied against groups like UNITA in Angola and the Sierra Leone rebels, including a ban on illicit diamonds. Diamond sanctions have also been applied against groups in Liberia.

In July 1999, after many years of civil conflict, negotiations between the Sierra Leone and government and the rebel group, Revolutionary United Front, with the help of United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), allowed the signing of the Lome Peace Agreement. Both parties agreed to the cessation of hostilities, disarmament of all combatants and the formation of a government of national unity.

October 1999, the Security Council established the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to assist in developing conditions in which the parties could implement the new agreement.

Following international concern regarding the illicit diamond trade's role in fuelling conflict in Sierra Leone, the Security Council adopted a resolution in July 2000 that imposed a ban on the direct or indirect import of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone without a Certificate of Origin regime, which proved they were legitimate and not conflict diamonds.

During the next two months, the Security Council Committee held a hearing to expose the link between the trade in illicit Sierra Leone diamonds and trade in arms and related materiel. The ways and means for developing a sustainable and well-regulated diamond industry in Sierra Leone were also addressed at the hearing.

In August 2000, a Panel of Experts was created to collect information on possible violations of the arms embargo and the link between trades in diamonds and trade in arms. This panel has been extremely important in preventing the trade of conflict diamonds.

Following the findings presented in the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts' report that the illicit trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone could not be conducted without the certification of the government, the Security Council adopted a new resolution in March of 2001. By this resolution, a new Sanctions Committee of the Security Council was established, an arms embargo was re-applied and a Panel of Experts was mandated for a period of six months.

In addition, the resolution stated that if the Liberian government did not meet t the demands specified by the Security Council within two months, all states would be required to take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect import of all rough diamonds from Liberia, whether or not such diamonds originated in Liberia, and a selective travel ban would be imposed.

Across vast stretches of Africa, diamonds fuel war. Diamonds are so lucrative for predatory governments and marauding rebels that war has become a useful cover for hugely profitable smuggling enterprises. For millions of Africans who happen to get in the way, diamonds are agents of terror."

De Beers estimates that only 3% of global rough diamonds now come from conflict areas in Africa, although the companies admits that it is difficult to define a conflict area.

Although Unita's sales of diamonds are down sharply from the mid-1990's, the United Nations report said gems continued to play a "uniquely important role" for the rebels.

In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, men, women and children were the greatest victims of the civil war. During the height of the diamond wars, the rebels would chop off the limbs of people to successfully conquer the diamond fields of eastern Sierra Leone. The people would flee the area in fear of the rebels.

De Beers created a diamond monopoly over a century ago when it realized that the abundance of diamonds in southern Africa would make them worthless. The company strategically marketed diamonds as scarce gems, and created a monopoly on the diamond industry.

De Beers has been accused of funding the rebel groups to fuel the war. As a result, the company has declared that it would not buy any diamonds that originate in conflict areas. However, according to experts, Be Beers indirectly buys conflict diamonds, as it is impossible to tell where a diamond comes from.

Conclusion

According to the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa, approximately $300-$500 million in diamonds are still being used annually by rebel groups to buy weapons and continue the civil wars. An estimated 300,000 innocent people have lost their lives over the past ten years in the diamond war of Sierra Leone.

The issue of conflict diamonds has been well-known by the world powers in the past three years. It has sparked changes by the United Nations and initiated the Kimberley Process.

However, despite the public's knowledge, little has been accomplished. The UN Security Council has placed a ban on all diamonds from Liberia, which supported Sierra Leone's rebel group, Revolutionary United Front, by trading guns for diamonds. It has also required that all Angolan and Sierra Leone diamonds come with a government certificate of origin. However, aside from these changes, little else has been done.

Massive volumes of conflict diamonds continue to pass through the diamond industry. When mixed with clean diamonds, they can be effectively laundered. As the public's knowledge of the heinous wars created by diamonds increases, the diamond industry and world government will be forced to take greater action, or else face the change that the legitimate diamond industry, which provides hundreds of thousands of jobs in many countries, will face growing consumer outrage.