In November, 2001, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation giving President George W. Bush the authority to ban the import of so-called "conflict diamonds" gems traded illegally to fund civil wars, buy weapons and support international terrorism.

The Clean Diamond Trade Act enables the President to impose sanctions on any country that does not implement a system of controls to stop the export of conflict diamonds.

Conflict diamonds originate primarily in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. A recent story in the Washington Post reports that Al-Qaeda has reaped millions of dollars in the past three years from the illicit sale of diamonds mined by rebels in Sierra Leone.

"Addressing the issue of conflict diamonds is not only essential for millions suffering and dying in Africa, but also for America’s national security," says Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Virginia), a key sponsor of the legislation.

To gain White House support for the bill, provisions of the legislation that would have automatically triggered sanctions against a country that does not have a system of controls on rough diamonds were substituted with language that gives the President the authority to impose sanctions if he deems it is in the national security interest of the United States. According to congressional aides familiar with the negotiations, the administration would otherwise not have supported the legislation.

Last November, President Bush formally approved the measure. This paved the way for the US to join 30 other countries supporting a United Nations measure, the so-called "Kimberly Process," aimed at stopping the illegal diamond trade.

"The United States is committed to ending the use of rough diamonds by rebel groups to fund insurrections against internationally recognized governments and atrocities against civilian populations," Philip T. Reeker, a State Department spokesman, said last week in a written statement.

But Reeker acknowledges that success of the Kimberley Process will depend on strong legislation — both in the US and elsewhere.

"We will work expeditiously with Congress to pass legislation as soon as possible in 2003," says Reeker.

The newly implemented program applies only to rough diamonds, not to cut stones.

Henceforth, diamond traders in signatory countries be required to certify the origin of every shipment of gems. Individual countries are responsible for establishing internal controls, such as licensing diamond mines and generating the certificates.

In general, human rights groups and observers are applauding the new measures as a positive step. However, the voluntary nature of the Kimberly Process leads many African experts to question the effectiveness of the new measure.

"I applaud the Kimberley process. My question is how effective it will be. Let’s not assume that with the implementation we will see the problem of conflict diamonds disappear," Timothy Docking, an African affairs specialist at the US Institute of Peace, tells reporters. USIP is a non-partisan institution funded by Congress.

The trade in illicit diamonds makes up a small percentage of all trade. Industry estimates put the figure at 3 percent of a rough-cut-diamond trade that was expected to produce almost $7.9 billion in output for 2002, according to the World Diamond Council.

But, according to Docking, the sale of conflict diamonds, usually mined in African countries lacking strong central governments, allows warlords and terrorists to raise tens of millions of dollars, undermine governments and place civilians in increasing danger.

"It becomes the fuel for these rebel movements and motivation to hold large portions of territory," says Docking.

The US diamond industry has backed the new monitoring process. Major mining companies, such as South Africa’s De Beers, have also backed the UN initiative.

US Customs already seizes small quantities of diamonds from war-torn countries facing UN sanctions. But according to a report published last year by the US government, said without an international certification system, conflict diamonds shipped to an intermediary country can be mixed into shipments to American buyers.

The report, authored by the General Accounting Office (GAO), adds that the Kimberley process was not rigorous enough to halt trade in conflict diamonds. The Bush administration disagrees with this assessment.

Adote Akwei, Advocacy Director for Africa with Amnesty International, says that while the congressional bill was significantly weaker than what its backers had originally hoped for, its passage is significant because the United States is now a step closer to becoming the first and only country with a law that implements a system of controls to stop the trade of conflict diamonds.

Over the next three years, the GAO plans to closely monitor and report on the effectiveness of the law.

Send questions and comments to: strategicpolicy@juno.com

– Arab News Features 9 January 2003