[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8853-8855]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THE CLEAN DIAMOND ACT OF 2003

  Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, later today the Senate will take up a 
bill that the House has acted upon; that is, the Clean Diamond Act of 
2003. There are many tragedies in this world, a lot of suffering. This 
bill deals with one of these problems. There are many atrocities that 
are occurring.
  One area of the world where such atrocities are occurring on a daily 
basis is in Sierra Leone, Africa. For at least a decade, Sierra Leone, 
one of the world's poorest nations, has been embroiled in a civil war. 
Rebel groups--most notably, the Revolutionary United Front--RUF--have 
been fighting for years to overthrow the recognized government. In the 
process, violence has erupted as the rebels have fought to seize 
control of the country's profitable diamond fields which, in turn, 
helps finance their terrorist regime.
  Once in control of a diamond field, the rebels confiscate the 
diamonds and then launder them onto the very legitimate market through 
other nearby nations, such as Liberia. We refer to these as 
``conflict'' or ``blood'' diamonds. These gems are a very lucrative 
business for the rebel groups. In fact, over the past decade, the 
rebels have smuggled out of Africa, we estimate, approximately $10 
billion in these diamonds.
  It is nearly impossible, of course, to distinguish the illegally 
gathered diamonds from legitimate or ``clean'' stones. And so, Members 
of the Senate, regrettably and unwittingly, the United States--as the 
world's biggest buyer of diamonds--has contributed to the violence. Our 
Nation accounted for more than half of the $57.5 billion in the global 
retail diamond trade last year, and some estimates suggest that illegal 
diamonds from Africa account for as much as 15 percent of the overall 
diamond trade.
  Since the start of the rebels' quest for control of Sierra Leone's 
diamond supply, half of the nation's population of 4.5 million have 
left their homes, and at least a half million have fled the country. 
But it is the children, as it usually is--it is the children--of Sierra 
Leone who are bearing the biggest brunt of the rebel insurgency. For 
over 8 years, the RUF has conscripted children--children often as young 
as 7 or 8 years old--to be soldiers in this makeshift army. They have 
ripped at least 12,000 children from their own families.
  As a result of deliberate and systematic brutalization, child 
soldiers have become some of the most vicious--and effective--fighters 
within the rebel factions. The rebel army--child-soldiers included--has 
terrorized Sierra Leone's population--killing, abducting, raping, and 
hacking off the limbs of victims with their machetes. This chopping off 
of limbs is the RUF's trademark strategy. In Freetown, the surgeons are 
frantic. Scores of men, women, and children--their hands partly chopped 
off--have flooded the main hospital. Amputating as quickly as they can, 
doctors toss severed hands into a communal bucket.
  The RUF frequently and forcibly injects the children with cocaine in 
preparation for battle. This is a picture of a little girl who, 
obviously, has had her arm amputated.
  In many cases, the rebels force the child-soldiers at gunpoint to 
kill their own family members or neighbors and friends. Not only are 
these children traumatized by what they are forced to do, they also are 
afraid to be reunited with their own families because of the 
possibility of retribution.
  Madam President and members of the Senate, I cannot understate nor 
can I fully describe the horrific abuses these children are suffering. 
The most vivid accounts come from the child-soldiers themselves. I 
would like to read a few of their stories--their own stories--taken 
from Amnesty International's 1998 report entitled: ``Sierra Leone--A 
Year of Atrocities against Civilians.'' According to one child's 
recollection:

       Civilians were rounded up, in groups or in lines, and then 
     taken individually to a pounding block in the village where 
     their hands, arms, or legs were cut with a machete. In some 
     villages, after the civilians were rounded up, they were 
     stripped naked. Men were then ordered to rape members of 
     their own family. If they refused, their arms were cut off 
     and the women were raped by rebel forces, often in front of 
     their husbands . . . victims of these atrocities also 
     reported women and children being rounded up and locked into 
     houses which were then set [on fire].

  A young man from Lunsar, describing a rebel attack, said this:

       Ten people were captured by the rebels and they asked us to 
     form a [line]. My brother was removed from the [line], and 
     they killed him with a rifle, and they cut his head with a 
     knife. After this, they killed his pregnant wife. There was 
     an argument among the rebels about the sex of the baby she 
     was carrying, so they decided to open her stomach to see the 
     baby.

  According to Komba, a teenager:

       My legs were cut with blades and cocaine was rubbed in the 
     wounds. Afterwards, I felt like a big person. I saw the other 
     people like chickens and rats. I wanted to kill them.

  Rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of sexual abuse of girls and 
women have been systematic, organized, and widespread. Many of those 
abducted have been forced to become the ``wives'' of combatants.
  According to Isatu, an abducted teenage girl:

       I did not want to go; I was forced to go. They killed a lot 
     of women who refused to go with them.

  She was forced to become the sexual partner of the combatant who 
captured her and is now the mother of their 3-month-old baby:

       When they capture young girls, you belong to the soldier 
     who captured you. I was ``married'' to him.

  Look at how some of these children have depicted themselves, the 
violence and bloodshed in their own drawings. That is how they depict 
it. Children strike at the heart of what they see and, more 
importantly, what they feel.
  We are losing these children, an entire generation of children, if 
the situation is not improved. These kids have no future. But as long 
as the rebel diamond trade remains unchallenged, nothing really will 
change at all. That

[[Page 8854]]

is why I have been working with Senator Durbin, Senator Feingold, 
Senator Gregg, and so many others in the Senate and the other body for 
over 2 years to pass legislation that would help stem this illegal 
trade in conflict diamonds. I thank Senator Grassley for his good work. 
Together we have worked extensively with our House colleagues, 
including my good friend and former colleague from Ohio, former 
Congressman Tony Hall. We have also worked with a champion in this 
area, my good friend, Frank Wolf from Virginia.
  We have worked to develop much needed legislation to help remove the 
rebel's market incentive because that is what you have to do is to get 
rid of the incentive. While we have not yet been successful in getting 
this legislation signed into law--not yet--I credit my colleagues' 
continued commitment to this often forgotten issue. I know our 
countless congressional hearings and meetings, letters, and legislative 
initiatives have encouraged the administration and the international 
community to keep this issue alive. I thank those in the administration 
who have kept the issue going and worked so very hard. We have kept the 
pressure on. We are beginning to see very positive results.
  Just this past January, an international agreement called the 
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was launched. Specifically, this 
is a voluntary international diamond certification system among over 50 
participating countries, including all of the major diamond producing 
and trading countries. This is a positive step. I commend the tireless 
work of human rights advocates and the diamond industry for making this 
certification system a reality.
  Because of their success, today we are faced with the urgent need of 
providing legislative measures to enable effective U.S. implementation 
of the certification scheme. We need to provide the administration with 
the authorization necessary to ensure U.S. compliance with this global 
regulatory framework. This is why last week I joined with my 
distinguished colleagues and my friends--Senator Grassley, Senator 
Durbin, Senator Feingold, Senator Baucus, Senator Bingaman, Senator 
Gregg, and several additional cosponsors--to introduce the Clean 
Diamond Act, legislation that commits the United States to mandatory 
implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification. This legislation 
is similar to a measure passed just last night in the House of 
Representatives, H.R. 1584. I am optimistic we can pass this 
legislation in the Senate very shortly, possibly even as early as 
today.
  The whole idea behind this is to commit the United States to a system 
of controls on the export and import of diamonds so that buyers can be 
certain their purchases are not fueling the rebel campaign.
  I know there is not one person in this country who goes in and buys a 
diamond with the intention to fuel a rebel campaign. No one wants to do 
that. This is a way we can ensure buyers they are not doing that.
  Specifically, our legislation would prohibit the import of any rough 
diamond that has not been controlled through the Kimberley Process 
Certification Scheme. Put simply, this means every diamond brought into 
the United States would require a certificate of origin and 
authenticity to indicate the rebel or terrorist group has not laundered 
it on to the legitimate market.
  Additionally, the bill calls on the President to report annually to 
the U.S. Congress on the control system's effectiveness and also 
requires the General Accounting Office to report on the law's 
effectiveness within 2 years of enactment.
  Finally, our bill emphasizes the Kimberley Process Certification 
Scheme is an ongoing process and that our Government should continue to 
work with the international community to strengthen the effectiveness 
of this global regulatory framework. As the world's biggest diamond 
customer, biggest consumer, purchasing well over half of all the 
diamonds purchased in the world, our Nation has a moral responsibility 
to show continued leadership on this issue. Quite candidly, there are a 
lot of terrible, tragic things going on we don't have the power to 
change or fix or have much impact on at all, but today in the Senate we 
can have impact on this issue. We can make a difference. We have the 
power to help put an end to this indescribable suffering and violence 
caused by diamond-related conflicts. We have that power, and we must 
use it.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this much needed 
legislation. We have a moral obligation to help stop the violence, help 
stop the brutality, and help stop the needless killing and the maiming 
going on, to help stop the victimization of these children.
  No other child should kill or be killed in diamond-related conflicts. 
I believe it is absolutely imperative that we pass the bill we have 
introduced and pass it quickly to help end these atrocities once and 
for all. It certainly is the humane thing to do. It is the right thing 
to do. It is the only thing to do.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when I pick up the newspaper, turn on the 
radio, or watch television, almost all of the media's attention is, 
understandably, focused on the war in Iraq. As a result, some important 
issues in other parts of the world are being overlooked or unreported. 
I want to call attention to some good news that has received very 
little attention: Congress has made some much needed progress on the 
very important issue of conflict diamonds.
  The role of diamonds in fueling brutal conflicts in Africa and 
funding terrorism is well documented, so I will not take much time 
recounting this history. Suffice it to say, that it is a critical 
problem and deserves serious attention and resources from Congress, the 
Bush Administration, and the international community.
  It is also well known that the diamond industry, key nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs), and a number of governments came together to 
create an international regime aimed at stopping the trade in conflict 
diamonds, called the Kimberley Process. In January 2002, the process 
was launched and now the individual countries involved need to pass 
implementing legislation.
  It is important that the Congress pass legislation before the next 
Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting on April 28, 2003, to ensure that the 
United States continues to play a leadership role on this issue.
  However, the timing of the bill should not be the only factor. The 
legislation needs to reflect not just the wishes of the administration 
but also the views of a bipartisan group of Senators, including 
Senators Durbin, DeWine, Feingold, Gregg, and Bingaman, who have been 
working on this issue for years. The bill must also incorporate input 
from a wide range of NGOs, from Oxfam to Catholic Relief Services, that 
have dealt first-hand with the devastating consequences of conflict 
diamonds.
  S. 760, the Clean Diamonds Trade Act, does just that. I rise today to 
support this legislation. And assuming that a word in the section 
concerning the Kimberley Process Implementation Coordinating Committee 
is changed, I also support the House companion, H.R. 1584, which is 
virtually identical to S. 760.
  I commend Senators Grassley and Baucus for producing a solid, 
bipartisan bill to implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme 
(KPCS), an international system designed to ensure that rough diamonds 
entering the United States are legally mined and traded.
  When we began drafting this bill several months ago, the 
administration's proposed legislation was little more than hortatory. 
It was filled with permissive authorities that would have required the 
administration to do virtually nothing. It essentially said: ``Thanks, 
but we'll take care of the problem by ourselves.''
  Through a consultative, bipartisan process, Senators Grassley and 
Baucus worked with interested Senators, the NGO community, and the 
diamond industry to shape the administration's proposal into meaningful 
legislation

[[Page 8855]]

that contains a number of important provisions.
  For example, the bill contains a prohibition of the importation of 
rough diamonds; requires Government oversight of the U.S. Kimberley 
Process Authority--the industry body responsible for issuing 
certificates for U.S. rough diamond exports; and includes reporting 
requirements that can be used to gauge the effectiveness of the system 
and monitor attempts to circumvent it. In the administration's original 
proposal, these provisions either did not exist or were seriously 
watereddown.
  While S. 760 is a good bill and is one that I am pleased to 
cosponsor, there is room for improvement.
  There is nothing in this legislation that deals with polished stones. 
As a result, if an exporter were to make just one ``cut'' to a diamond 
it would be exempt from KPCS and the implementing legislation. I also 
think improvements can be made to the criminal penalties language, the 
provision on statistics collection, and a handful of other sections.
  But we all know that no bill is perfect and no Senator gets 
everything he or she wants in a broad, bipartisan bill. I mention these 
shortcomings, not to criticize the efforts of the authors of the bill, 
but rather for two important reasons.
  First, the shortcomings in the S. 760, as well as the KPCS itself, 
highlight the fact that Kimberley is an ongoing process and that 
additional regulations, legislation, and other measures will be 
necessary in the future. I am very pleased that Senators Grassley and 
Baucus have included a sense of Congress in S. 760 that says just that.
  Second, because the legislation gives the administration a good deal 
of flexibility, it is imperative that the State Department, Treasury 
Department, and other agencies follow through and implement the KPCS in 
an effective and timely manner. I can assure you that those of us who 
are co-sponsors of this legislation will be working to ensure this 
happens.
  As I have said with countless other pieces of legislation, you can 
have the best bill in the world, but it is not worth a whole lot if 
Congress and the administration do not put the resources behind it.
  I applaud the authors of the bill for including a Section in the bill 
that authorizes the President to provide technical assistance to 
developing nations seeking to implement the KPCS. But, it is up to the 
Appropriations Committee to make sure this initiative is funded.
  As ranking member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I included 
a provision in the fiscal year 2003 bill that appropriated $2 million 
for this purpose. However, I have been informed that it is unclear if 
the State Department plans on utilizing these funds for their intended 
purpose, and that the Department might transfer it to other programs.
  This would be a big mistake. In order to effectively implement 
Kimberley, extremely poor nations, where diamonds are mined, will have 
to set up viable export-control and law enforcement systems. Many of 
these nations simply do not have enough resources to do this.
  Because of the links between conflict diamonds and terrorism, as well 
as human rights and humanitarian concerns, it is important that the 
United States provide technical assistance in order to have the most 
effective system possible. If providing a small amount of funding helps 
strengthen the KPCS, we should do it.
  Some in the administration might ask how one would go about 
implementing such a program.
  Those who ask those questions need to look no further than two 
programs that the U.S. Government has implemented in the past.
  The United States Agency for International Development supported a 
successful program in Sierra Leone to improve controls associated with 
the mining and export of diamonds. In addition, the United States 
provides technical assistance to nations to implement the World Trade 
Organization agreement. I am confident that these two programs can 
provide a model for the use of these funds.
  Americans buy 65 to 70 percent of the world's diamonds, including 
rough diamonds, polished stones and jewelry containing diamonds. It is 
up to the United States to provide leadership on this very important 
issue. Without us, the world will not make the kind of progress it 
needs to on this and other human rights related matters.
  This should not be hard for us to do. It is in our security 
interests. It is in our humanitarian interests. It is in our economic 
interests.
  With the passage of the Clean Diamonds Trade Act, Congress will take 
an important step forward. There is much more work that needs to be 
done, but I am confident that it can be done.
  In closing, I would like to thank some of those involved with this 
effort, including Everett Eissenstat and Carrie Clark of Senator 
Grassley's staff, Shara Aranoff of Senator Baucus' staff, Randy 
Soderquist of Senator Bingaman's staff, Laura Parker of Senator 
DeWine's staff, and last but certainly not least Cara Thanassi of Oxfam 
America. Without the help of these individuals, this bill would not 
have made it to first base. I thank them for their hard work.

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