Illicit trafficking of diamonds: New frontiers

Abstract

As it is often said, diamonds are forever. Lives, however, are not. At the hands of rebels, dictators, and terrorists, diamonds have crystallized into a source of financing for conflict and civil wars, which not only caused the deaths of more than two million people, but also mutilations and atrocious suffering for the sake of “conflict” diamonds. By briefly describing the attempts made by the international communities and governments to fight against the illicit trafficking of diamonds, this article wants to summarize the issue of “conflict” diamonds, discuss the role of the Kimberley Process, and summarize the vulnerability of this complex issue.