The term blood diamond, though not a new one, was recently popularized in the broader culture with the release of the 2006 film Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Also known as conflict diamonds, these blood diamonds have been defined by the United Nations as those which "originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments" and are "used to fund military action in opposition to those governments." Instead of playing a critical role in the promotion of a country's economic growth, blood diamonds have been used for exactly the opposite. They have provided the financing necessary to support conflict and insurrection, leaving in its wake destruction, poverty, and death. The amount of money amassed to promote severe violence in some of the hardest hit African nations when quantified in US dollars is staggering but when measured in terms of loss of human life is incalculable. The world community started to take notice in the late 1990s, and on December 1, 2000, the UN unanimously accepted a resolution condemning the practice of mining and selling rough diamonds to support rebel contingents and, instead, encouraging a system of legitimacy to guarantee the fair removal and honorable sale of this commodity.

The continent of Africa provides the world with more than half of its raw diamonds. Since many of the countries richest in this natural resource have a long history of brutal conflict, the high value of diamonds themselves has proved a key element in fueling ongoing war there. Ironically, a stone which in developed nations symbolizes steadfast and abiding love became the source of tremendous suffering and pain for the weak and helpless. Children were forced to fight, forfeiting their innocence for corrupt and cruel warlords. Miners were enslaved and violently treated in the production of raw diamonds, their basic human rights completely ignored. Some of the worst offending nations were Congo, Angola, and Sierra Leone, countries which either illegally mined or questionably traded large quantities of conflict diamonds. In the late 1990s, before sanctions were put in place to control this problem, anywhere between 4% and 15% of the world's diamonds were sold to finance and arm fighting coalitions. Despite the enormity of the situation, in what could seem like a hopeless mess, worldwide indignation began to mount and action was taken.

Today, due to the combined efforts of the United Nations and the World Diamond Congress, 99% of the diamonds produced are conflict free. Countries trading in blood diamonds have had strict bans placed upon them, forbidding the sale of diamonds outright. These restrictions can only be lifted once peace is firmly established and membership in the Kimberley Process Certification System is secured. Named for the town of Kimberley in South Africa where these talks first began, the KPCS was established in 2003 by a UN resolution strongly supported by the global diamond industry. It guarantees the legitimacy of conflict free diamonds both to the countries buying them and ultimately to the consumer. Now, more than 74 countries participate in this program, which requires its members to "establish a system of internal controls designed to eliminate the presence of conflict diamonds from shipments of rough diamonds imported into and exported from its territory." Participating countries may not trade diamonds with non-participating countries as a way to prevent blood diamonds from finding a place in the market. Above all, transparency and disclosure in trade is crucial to continued efforts at eradicating this problem.

Diamonds are such a valuable commodity and provide much-needed revenue for the poverty-stricken nations of Africa which are wealthiest in this resource. It is unnecessary and actually detrimental for consumers to boycott the purchase of diamonds altogether due to the shocking publicity this issue has raised. Instead, those considering buying a diamond can educate themselves to guarantee they are purchasing a conflict free diamond. For many countries, without the income provided by the diamond industry, children would go uneducated, hospitals would close, and infrastructure would collapse. In countries like Botswana a quarter of the population is in some way employed by the diamond industry, and African countries collectively account for more than $8 billion in diamond exports annually. That kind of impact on a continent's survival is indispensable. Ultimately, the diamonds themselves are not the problem, rather the greed and corruption which often follow a substance of limited quantity and high market value. The guarantees put in place by the global community have made buying a conflict free diamond a reality. Now, consumers can make an ethical purchase to support the success of developing nations, not contribute to their ongoing demise. By choosing conflict free diamonds a statement is made that the brutality and corruption which profits a few will not be tolerated. As the past few years have demonstrated, a unified international response can dismantle powerful diamond giants, and with the continued efforts of the KPCS and partnered nations, conflict diamonds will become a thing of the past.