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Guia de Estudos / Study Guide / Guia de Estudios
have the right to a dignifying life; when this right is
taken away because of the fear and human rights are
in jeopardy. As Martin Scheinin, Human Rights Special
Rapporteur to the United nations, stated, respect to
human rights must be paramount when countering
terrorism according to the Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy, a wide consensus exists so fighting terrorism
in respect to the human rights is not merely a moral
and legal duty of States but likewise the most efficacious
way to combat terrorism.
Africa is the perfect example of a continent that
has many forms of terrorism and its population is very
much affected with such attacks, suffering the consequences
of living in non secure States. The people
are the ones who are most affected by the attacks, because
in some cases, they lose their home, their relatives
and even their lives, when the violence takes extreme
measures. In this sense, human beings and the
respect for their basic rights must be a priority when
addressing the relation between terrorism and conflict
diamonds.
Diamonds are well known for being the symbol of
beauty, fortune and luxury. Wealthy people all around
the world buy diamonds as gifts for their loved ones
once diamonds are known to represent happiness.
However, there is the other side of the story:
Conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from
areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate
and internationally recognized governments, and are used
to fund military action in opposition to those governments,
or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council
Conflict diamonds, also known as “blood diamonds”,
are those that are not considered legitimate
- those which are illegally traded to finance attacks
and other form of fuel to conflicts in specific areas, for
example, some African countries. These conflict diamonds
can be easily confused with trustworthy diamonds;
the moment diamonds are sent to the market,
it is almost impossible to know whether they are licit
or illicit; their origin is hard to discover once brought
to the trading post. Therefore, the diamond’s background
has to be well known before merchandizing
and distributing it worldwide, for the sake of society.
Around a decade ago, some countries decided that
there had to be a measure to avoid the endurance of
blood diamonds and consequently their access to the
legitimate diamonds commercial route, certifying that
in fact, diamonds were being used with a licit purpose
and not the financing of conflicts against governments.
The trade of illicit diamonds has been the cause of devastating
attacks in the African continent and has led to
destructive aftermaths, such as human rights abuses and
deaths of innocent people. The Kimberley Process, “an international
certification program aimed at ending conflict
fueled by diamonds in Africa” , was officially instituted in
2003 and its main objective is to certify that the diamonds
are “conflict free” and that their origin is licit, guaranteeing
that blood diamonds will not be a part of the legitimate
trade. According to it, “Rough diamonds must be shipped
in sealed containers and exported with a Kimberley Process
Certificate which certifies that the diamonds are conflict
free.” The Kimberley Process has been essential for
the strive against illegitimate diamonds; it demands that
every single rough diamond traded has to have with it a
certificate that indicates it comes from a conflict free area.
As reported by Eli Izhakoff, Chairman of the World Diamond
Council, it is due to the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme (KPCS) that diamonds are one of the most
controlled natural resource in the world and this measure
has been very effective in the strive against illegitimate
diamonds.
Conflict diamonds have been reduced from approximately
4% to considerably less than 1% since the implementation of
the Kimberley Process in 2003. More than 99% of diamonds
are now from conflict free sources and traded under the UNmandated
Kimberley Process.
Diamond trafficking is one of the main problems in Africa;
it is an activity that finances the opposition towards
governments in the continent and a part of the money
is known to be invested in terrorist attacks; another part
is directed to criminals, which means that the profit from
this activity goes to other illegal activities. African people
work hard, all day long, digging diamonds so they can
earn a minimum amount of money to feed their family,
meanwhile, a large amount of the money originated from
the diamonds, which could be invested in the population,
is headed to illegal purposes, such as crime and terrorism.
The people do not suffer only from lack of money, but
also with wars that occur because and related to such
traffic. Several Africans have already died and others have
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