Disclosures
• Personal Relationships with a Commercial
Interest: None
• Discussion in the presentation of “off-label”
(unapproved use of substances / products:
None
The Adverse Economic, Health,
Environmental, and Human
Rights Consequences of the
Global Diamond Trade
Martin Donohoe
Diamonds
• Symbols of wealth, power, love, and magical powers
• Created from carbon early in the earth’s history under
extreme temperature and pressure
– Industrial uses: cutting, chemically inert, transmits
many wavelengths of light, can be tweaked to hold an
electric charge
• Discovered in India around 800 B.C.
• Commercial mining began in 1866 in South Africa
Diamond Production
• Botswana, Australia, Zaire, Russia and
South Africa major mining countries
• Antwerp, Tel Aviv, New York and Mumbai
(Bombay) major trading centers
• Most cutting done in Tel Aviv, Mumbai,
New York and Thailand
• Major retail markets U.S. (48% of diamond
jewelry) and Japan
The US Diamond Market, 2005
• $900 million worth of rough diamonds and
$15 billion worth of polished diamonds
imported
• Retail sales = $334 billion
The Diamond Engagement Ring
• Diamond engagement ring introduced
in 1477 (Archduke Ferdinand → Mary
of Burgundy)
• De Beers Mining Company
–Founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888
Cecil Rhodes
(Rhodesia, Rhodes Scholarship, DeBeers Mining
Company)
“We must find new lands from which we
can easily obtain raw materials and at the
same time exploit the cheap slave labour
that is available from the natives of the
colonies. The colonies would also provide
a dumping ground for the surplus goods
produced in our factories.”
Diamond Rings
• 1939: DeBeers hires N.W. Ayer and Company to
make diamonds “a psychological necessity…the
larger the diamond, the greater the expression
of love.”
– Secret engagements popularized (men spend more
than women)
• By 1942, 80% of engagements in U.S.
consecrated with diamond rings (still true today)
• Diamonds first worn by stars to the Oscars in
1942
Diamond Rings
• 1947: “A diamond is forever” slogan born
– Jewelers instructed to tell (pressure?)
men - who buy 90% of all diamonds – to
spend at least 2 months salary on the
ring
• Later: Anniversary diamonds
Pet Jewelry:
The Diamond Dog Collar
Diamond Rings
• 1999: Advertising Age magazine declares
“A Diamond is Forever” slogan the most
effective of the 20th Century
– Recognized by 90% of Americans
• 2003: De Beers begins to market
diamonds to single women
– “Your left hand says ‘we,’ your right hand says
‘me.’”
Diamonds: Profits and Losses
• 120 million carats rough diamonds mined
for jewelry per year weigh 24 tons, worth
approximately U.S.$14 billion
– 1 carat diamond retails for $350-$750 in the
U.S.
• Cost less than $2 billion to extract
• Ultimately sell for over $50 billion
Diamonds: Profits and Losses
• Workers desperately poor but hoping to
strike it rich in “casino economy”
– 1 million in Africa
– Work under dangerous, unhealthy conditions
for pittance
• Diamonds may be embedded in asbestos
• Workers suffer from cancer, leukemia,
silicosis
Diamonds: Profits and Losses
• Middlemen, diamond dealers and
exporters earn the lion’s share of
profits
–Most foreign nationals
–Very little profit re-invested in
local communities
Diamonds: Human Rights Abuses,
Conflict and Terrorism
• Mine owners violate indigenous
peoples’ rights via destruction of
traditional homelands and forced
resettlement
• Mining hastens environmental
degradation of ecosystems already
under severe stress
Diamonds: Human Rights Abuses,
Conflict and Terrorism
• Diamonds have been used by rebel armies in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola,
Liberia, and Sierra Leone to pay for weapons
used to fight brutal civil wars
–
–
–
–
–
3.8 million deaths
Child soldiers
Forced labor
Sex slavery, HIV
Terrorize local populations (e.g., RUF in Sierra Leone
killed and mutilated thousands via amputations with
machetes and axes in 1990s)
Diamonds: Human Rights Abuses,
Conflict and Terrorism
• Al Qaeda and Hizbollah have used
diamond monies to:
– Fund terror cells
– Hide money targeted by financial
institutions
– Launder profits from criminal activity
– Convert cash into a commodity that is
easily transportable and holds its value
Diamonds: Human Rights Abuses,
Conflict and Terrorism
• Smuggled and illicit conflict
diamonds may amount to as
much as 10-15% of diamond
jewelry sold worldwide
–U.S. State Dept.
• 20%
–Global Witness
Alternatives and Solutions
• Diamonds:
– Consider alternatives to traditional
engagement ring
• Cubic zirconium
• Synthetic/cultured diamonds – over 75,000 lbs
produced each year worldwide
• LifeGems (diamonds created from carbon captured
during cremation of human and animal remains!)
• Other
Alternatives and Solutions
• Diamonds:
– Purchase only verifiable conflict-free
diamonds
• cut, color, clarity, and conflict
– Query jewelers, consumer education,
boycotts, protests, shareholder activism
• Diamond industry supports self-regulation
Alternatives and Solutions
• Diamonds: Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme
– Requires rough controls to assure conflict-free
diamonds
– Governments license miners
– Diamond traders utilize sealed, tamper-proof
containers
– Integrated computer databases in importing
and exporting countries catch discrepancies
Alternatives and Solutions
• Diamonds: Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme
– Importing countries enact strict customs
regulations, backed by thorough inspections
and harsh penalties
– Supported by diamond industry and UN
General Assembly
– Involved countries (71) slow and often
ineffective in enacting Scheme
Symbols of Love: Alternatives and
Solutions
• U.S. Clean Diamond Act of 2003
– Mandates participation in Kimberly Process
Certification scheme
– Money from fines (up to $10,000 for civil and $50,000
for criminal penalties) and seized contraband
earmarked for victims of armed conflict
– Implementation slow
• USA Patriot Act includes anti-money laundering
measures
Alternatives and Solutions
• Amnesty International/Global Witness
2006-2007 survey
– ½ of companies failed to respond
– Only 38% of companies responding able to
provide a meaningful account of their policies
– Helzberg Diamond Shops, Sterling (Signet),
and Tiffany and Co. have most
comprehensive policies
Safe Diamonds (?)
Alternatives and Solutions
• Consider alternative tokens of affection
– Homemade gifts (cards, photo collages,
videos, poems, meals, home improvement
projects)
– Donations to charities
– Eco-jewelry made from recycled materials by
indigenous peoples
• Profits returned to local communities, providing
wide-ranging social and economic benefit
Conclusions
• Diamonds as symbols of love are cultural
constructs perpetuated in part by the
persuasive marketing efforts of
multinational corporations
• Production involves significant damage to
local communities and the environment
and harms men, women and children
Conclusions
• Production supports human rights abuses,
armed conflict, and even terrorism
• Symbols of love should not be constant
reminders of death and destruction
– Consider alternative symbols of love
– Work for social justice and change
Paper/References
Donohoe MT. Flowers, diamonds, and gold:
The destructive human rights and
environmental consequences of symbols
of love. Human Rights Quarterly
2008;30:164-82.
http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
http://www.phsj.org
martindonohoe@phsj.org