Organization / PublicationAgence Vu for NIZA / Vrij Nederland
CategoryContemporary Issues stories
Prize2nd prize
Date00-02-2004
CountrySierra Leone
PlaceKoidu
CaptionThe diamond industry draws its materials from some of the poorest and most troubled regions in the world. In the past, warlords and rebel groups in countries including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone have used profits from the mines they control to buy arms and fund wars. The industry has attempted to prevent the spread of these 'conflict diamonds' by setting up the Kimberly Process to document and certify all exports. But conflict diamonds persist, smuggled out of strife-torn areas to neighboring countries and then sold on the black market or mixed with certified stones.
