Persuasive Essay On Blood Diamonds
Dylan DiMonda
Ms Cameron
English 10
10 March 2014
Blood Diamonds
Have you ever looked down at your ring and wondered where it came from or how it was mined? On your very finger may be the reason why a war was started in Africa. There are regulations to try and keep these diamonds out of the market but these regulations have loopholes in which these diamonds enter the United States. In discussions of diamonds, one controversial issue has been whether or not should be sold in the United States. On the one hand, supporters contend that the sale of blood diamonds have funded wars that have supplied arms that have killed millions of people. On the other hand, critics argue that the revenue from the sale of diamonds have provided health care and …show more content…
have improved society as a whole in Africa. My own view is that blood diamonds shouldn 't be sold in the United states because rebel groups around the world have used the money from the sales of these diamonds to fuel wars and because how poorly the Kimberly Process is to filter out blood diamonds.
The name “conflict” or “blood” diamonds refers to gems that have come from conflict regions to fuel wars for rebel groups.
According to Mireya Navarro, “The term “Conflict Diamonds” or “Blood Diamonds” refries to gems that have been used by rebel groups to pay for wars that killed and displaced millions of people in Africa, the source of an estimated 65 percent of the worlds diamonds.” This shows that rebel groups have used the revenue from the sale of blood diamonds to start wars against central governments. Furthermore, we as a nation shouldn 't be funding the very people who are killing millions of people around the world by buying diamonds. On the positive side, Sheila R. Cherry stated that, “Diamonds represent one of the primary exports of The Central African Republic.” This shows that without diamonds, the poor nations of Africa wouldn 't be able to support their people which could lead to even more deaths than armed conflicts. Clearly, The Central African Republic depends on the sale to benefit the country. According to Shantanu Guha Ray,“ Knuckle-sized diamonds also come from The Ivory Coast, banned from trading by The United Nations following accusations of human rights violations at their mines.” This shows that the way these diamonds are mined are also killing people. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the safety of millions of people around the world. The Kimberly process also does a poor lob at filtering out blood diamonds from global …show more content…
trade.
From the sales of these blood diamonds, millions of dollars have gone to rebel groups that have killed millions of people around the world.
The definition of a blood diamonds, “According to the United Nations, are uncut stones traded by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflict against central governments” (Cherry). This shows proof of how rebels use money from the sale of blood diamonds to start wars against their governments. Furthermore, Americans shouldn 't be paying for the weapons that have killed millions of people. An example of where to money was spent is by, “The rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has led a campaign of terror against civilians since 1991, including killings, rape and mutilation” (Cherry). This detail shows that blood diamonds have been a problem for a long time but has only been recently publicized. As a result of this violence, civilians have paid the ultimate price from the sale of these diamonds. Further explanations according to Harkara are that, “Conflict diamonds originate in areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments and are used to fund military action against those governments.” This suggests that blood diamonds could be one of main sources of income to fund these wars. Clearly, the only way that consumers could help stop the flow of income to these rebel groups is to only buy diamonds that originate from conflict-free zones. Blood diamonds have funded
violent wars but regulations have proven ineffective against the trade.
The Kimberly Process is designed to keep blood diamonds out of global markets but studies show just how ineffective it really is. An inside source that has criticized The Kimberly Process is, “Ian Smillie, one of KP architects who resigned in 2009 in protest against its functioning, has called the organization farcical, irresponsible and a disgrace” (qtd. in Ray). This shows that someone who designed The Kimberly Process is stating the ineffectively of it. Therefore, The KP isn 't as good at controlling blood diamonds as some people may think it is. Even though Blood diamonds are heavily monitored by, “The Kimberly Process certificate is today’s near universal standard requirement to trade rough diamonds, it is still shamefully basic”(Miklian). This further explains that The KP still has a long way before it effectively filter blood diamonds out of global markets. Another piece of evidence that Harkara stated was that, “My visit to some jewelry shops showed that sales representatives…, were not always aware of the process.” This shows that The KP hasn’t done its job to inform stores and distributers of its regulations. If the stores don 't know about The Kimberly Process, how are buyers supposed to know if their symbol of love has bought a weapon of war. This shows how little that the KP has done to filter out blood diamonds from global trade.
Blood diamonds shouldn 't be sold in The U.S. because of the wars they have started and of how easy it is to work around the Kimberly process. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the live of millions of people around the world. If consumers refuse to purchase blood diamonds, it will strip the money away from rebel groups in Africa. This will inevitably lead to less and less conflict. Also, if there are reforms implemented into The K.P. it will make a major impact on the blood diamond trade. The United States is a symbol of freedom and the American people shouldn’t be supporting military action against innocent people.
Works Cited
Cherry, Sheila R. “Conflict Diamonds’ Could Lose Sparkle.” Insight on the News 19.4. (4 Feb. 2003): 28-29. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Harkara. “Make Sure That No Blood on Your Hands When Decked Out in Diamonds.” Home News Tribune 21 July 2006. Proquest. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Miklian, Jason. “Rough Cut.” Foreign Policy Jan./Feb. 2013: 31. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Navarro, Mireya. “Diamonds Are for Never?” New York Times 14 Dec. 2006: G1+. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Ray, Shantanu Guha. “The Blood Diamonds of Surat.” India Today 16 May 2011: SIRS. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Ms Cameron
English 10
10 March 2014
Blood Diamonds
Have you ever looked down at your ring and wondered where it came from or how it was mined? On your very finger may be the reason why a war was started in Africa. There are regulations to try and keep these diamonds out of the market but these regulations have loopholes in which these diamonds enter the United States. In discussions of diamonds, one controversial issue has been whether or not should be sold in the United States. On the one hand, supporters contend that the sale of blood diamonds have funded wars that have supplied arms that have killed millions of people. On the other hand, critics argue that the revenue from the sale of diamonds have provided health care and …show more content…
have improved society as a whole in Africa. My own view is that blood diamonds shouldn 't be sold in the United states because rebel groups around the world have used the money from the sales of these diamonds to fuel wars and because how poorly the Kimberly Process is to filter out blood diamonds.
The name “conflict” or “blood” diamonds refers to gems that have come from conflict regions to fuel wars for rebel groups.
According to Mireya Navarro, “The term “Conflict Diamonds” or “Blood Diamonds” refries to gems that have been used by rebel groups to pay for wars that killed and displaced millions of people in Africa, the source of an estimated 65 percent of the worlds diamonds.” This shows that rebel groups have used the revenue from the sale of blood diamonds to start wars against central governments. Furthermore, we as a nation shouldn 't be funding the very people who are killing millions of people around the world by buying diamonds. On the positive side, Sheila R. Cherry stated that, “Diamonds represent one of the primary exports of The Central African Republic.” This shows that without diamonds, the poor nations of Africa wouldn 't be able to support their people which could lead to even more deaths than armed conflicts. Clearly, The Central African Republic depends on the sale to benefit the country. According to Shantanu Guha Ray,“ Knuckle-sized diamonds also come from The Ivory Coast, banned from trading by The United Nations following accusations of human rights violations at their mines.” This shows that the way these diamonds are mined are also killing people. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the safety of millions of people around the world. The Kimberly process also does a poor lob at filtering out blood diamonds from global …show more content…
trade.
From the sales of these blood diamonds, millions of dollars have gone to rebel groups that have killed millions of people around the world.
The definition of a blood diamonds, “According to the United Nations, are uncut stones traded by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflict against central governments” (Cherry). This shows proof of how rebels use money from the sale of blood diamonds to start wars against their governments. Furthermore, Americans shouldn 't be paying for the weapons that have killed millions of people. An example of where to money was spent is by, “The rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has led a campaign of terror against civilians since 1991, including killings, rape and mutilation” (Cherry). This detail shows that blood diamonds have been a problem for a long time but has only been recently publicized. As a result of this violence, civilians have paid the ultimate price from the sale of these diamonds. Further explanations according to Harkara are that, “Conflict diamonds originate in areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments and are used to fund military action against those governments.” This suggests that blood diamonds could be one of main sources of income to fund these wars. Clearly, the only way that consumers could help stop the flow of income to these rebel groups is to only buy diamonds that originate from conflict-free zones. Blood diamonds have funded
violent wars but regulations have proven ineffective against the trade.
The Kimberly Process is designed to keep blood diamonds out of global markets but studies show just how ineffective it really is. An inside source that has criticized The Kimberly Process is, “Ian Smillie, one of KP architects who resigned in 2009 in protest against its functioning, has called the organization farcical, irresponsible and a disgrace” (qtd. in Ray). This shows that someone who designed The Kimberly Process is stating the ineffectively of it. Therefore, The KP isn 't as good at controlling blood diamonds as some people may think it is. Even though Blood diamonds are heavily monitored by, “The Kimberly Process certificate is today’s near universal standard requirement to trade rough diamonds, it is still shamefully basic”(Miklian). This further explains that The KP still has a long way before it effectively filter blood diamonds out of global markets. Another piece of evidence that Harkara stated was that, “My visit to some jewelry shops showed that sales representatives…, were not always aware of the process.” This shows that The KP hasn’t done its job to inform stores and distributers of its regulations. If the stores don 't know about The Kimberly Process, how are buyers supposed to know if their symbol of love has bought a weapon of war. This shows how little that the KP has done to filter out blood diamonds from global trade.
Blood diamonds shouldn 't be sold in The U.S. because of the wars they have started and of how easy it is to work around the Kimberly process. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the live of millions of people around the world. If consumers refuse to purchase blood diamonds, it will strip the money away from rebel groups in Africa. This will inevitably lead to less and less conflict. Also, if there are reforms implemented into The K.P. it will make a major impact on the blood diamond trade. The United States is a symbol of freedom and the American people shouldn’t be supporting military action against innocent people.
Works Cited
Cherry, Sheila R. “Conflict Diamonds’ Could Lose Sparkle.” Insight on the News 19.4. (4 Feb. 2003): 28-29. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Harkara. “Make Sure That No Blood on Your Hands When Decked Out in Diamonds.” Home News Tribune 21 July 2006. Proquest. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Miklian, Jason. “Rough Cut.” Foreign Policy Jan./Feb. 2013: 31. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Navarro, Mireya. “Diamonds Are for Never?” New York Times 14 Dec. 2006: G1+. SIRS. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Ray, Shantanu Guha. “The Blood Diamonds of Surat.” India Today 16 May 2011: SIRS. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.