[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22102]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         CONFLICT DIAMONDS ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, yesterday I had a press conference with 
two of my colleagues, Senator DeWine of Ohio and Congressman Tony Hall 
of Ohio as well. We are cosponsors of legislation which deals with a 
phenomenon that has become increasingly important in this discussion.
  It is not enough we search out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants in 
their caves in Afghanistan and stop those cells of terrorist activity 
around the world. We have to find a way to starve them of the assets 
and resources they need to succeed. The President made it clear this 
week that this has to be an immediate response by the United States. So 
as part of antiterrorism, we have created new authority to deal with 
money laundering--money laundering and transfers of money that have 
been used to finance the terrorist network.
  A little over a week ago, though, we came to learn that there was 
another source for the terrorist operation. That source is diamonds. It 
appears that in west Africa in particular, and in Sierra Leone, where 
terrorist organizations have taken control of the production of 
diamonds, they are not only using these diamonds to promote their 
terrorism in west Africa, but they are exchanging these diamonds in 
international commerce among terrorist groups.
  In Sierra Leone and other countries, we have seen absolutely barbaric 
conduct by these terrorists in west Africa. We have seen people who 
have been killed and mutilated, hundreds if not thousands of people who 
faced amputations of their hands, arms, legs, and feet as terrorist 
payback for their lack of loyalty to the terrorist cause.
  How do these terrorists keep moving along? They are mining diamonds 
which eventually find their way into some of the most comfortable, 
democratic, and peaceful parts of this world.
  We have introduced legislation, the Conflict Diamonds Act, which will 
require a certification of the country of origin for diamonds so we can 
starve out the diamonds that are coming out of west Africa and other 
places where they are supporting terrorism.
  This is so important. It was important before September 11. It is 
more important now because we have come to learn that Osama bin Laden 
gathered these diamonds before September 11 as his way of bankrolling 
his terrorist operation. Diamonds do not leave a paper trail. A person 
with a handful of diamonds worth many thousands of dollars can stick 
them in his pocket or in a purse or in a packet and move through any 
metal detector, any security device undetected. That is a reality.
  We have joined in a bipartisan fashion with the jewelry industry and 
with the diamond industry to promote the conflict diamonds bill to stop 
this illicit terrorist trade in diamonds.
  The United States plays such a critical role when it comes to this 
issue. We in the United States import 65 percent of all the diamonds in 
the world. If we put strong standards in place and our allies who have 
joined us in this war against terrorism also pass similar standards, we 
can starve off a source of money, a source of terrorism that is clearly 
becoming rampant, even as we speak.
  Diamonds have always been a symbol of enduring love. Unfortunately, 
today they have become the currency of terrorism. I know the House Ways 
and Means Committee had a hearing on this bill last week. I am happy 
the Senate passed this bill earlier this year, and we are going to have 
to address it again.
  I call on all my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to consider 
this a matter of great urgency and join us in a bipartisan fashion. 
Senator Feingold, Senator DeWine, I, Congressman Tony Hall, and 
Congressman Frank Wolf, in a true bipartisan fashion, have tried to 
move this important issue forward.
  I close on this issue by giving special credit to Congressman Tony 
Hall, who has been a leader on this for years--not for months but for 
years. It is his good work that has brought us to this point. I am 
happy to be an ally of Tony Hall in any cause, but when it comes to a 
cause of this importance, I hope my colleagues will take a close look 
at this legislation.

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