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In 1998, the world was surprised by the discovery of a link between the rebel movements in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Global Witness, a non-governmental organization (NGO), announced that the rebel group in Angola, Uniao Nacional para la Independencia Total de Angola, financed its wars against the country's legitimate government by trading in rough diamonds. Then it became clear that Sierra Leone, Congo, and many other African states were engaged in the trade of so-called "conflict diamonds." An initiative arose to create an effective international system that would prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market and finding their place on the shelves of jewelry stores around the world.
The diamond industry, NGOs, and the United Nations met for the first time in May 2000 in Kimberley, South Africa, to resolve the trade in conflict diamonds. Subsequent meetings yielded the Kimberley Protocol, which the UN General Assembly unanimously supported in December 2000. Implementation of the Kimberley Protocol was further encouraged by the discovery that the terrorist organization Al Qaeda converted US$20 million into conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. Conflict diamonds became an accessible and practical currency for violence and terrorism around the world.
The Kimberley Protocol took two years to design, but it is unclear whether it can stop trade in conflict diamonds. The Protocol does not impose strict conditions that participants have to satisfy before implementation of the Protocol in January 2003, and there is a valid possibility that some of the participants will be non-compliant with the agreement immediately after entering it. Nevertheless, many argue that it is...