[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 22727-22728]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ENDING THE TRADE IN CONFLICT DIAMONDS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, this week marks the opening of a film 
that has already gotten a lot of attention, Warner Brothers' ``Blood 
Diamond.'' Many will flock to theaters to see this Hollywood 
blockbuster, but I hope these audiences will remember more than the 
celebrities and action sequences.
  So-called blood diamonds finance criminal activity that threatens the 
lives and environments of civilians, the stability of communities and 
countries, and national, regional, and international security. Innocent 
citizens, many of them children, are forced to mine the gems in 
hazardous conditions while rebel groups reap large profits, which are 
used to pay for weapons that breed brutal violence. In the past decade, 
the sale of blood diamonds fuelled civil wars resulting in over 4 
million deaths and the displacement of millions of people in Angola, 
Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and now in 
Ivory Coast.
  In 2003, Congress passed the Clean Diamond Trade Act, which sought to 
ensure that the United States does not participate in the conflict 
diamond trade by prohibiting the importation of diamonds from countries 
that fail to implement a clearly articulated system of controls on 
rough diamonds. It was designed to implement the multinational 
Kimberley Process scheme launched earlier that year by 70 governments 
and the global diamond industry, which requires governments to certify 
that diamond shipments through their countries are conflict-free. The 
scheme's objectives are to: (1) stem the flow of rough diamonds used by 
rebels to finance armed conflict; and (2) protect the legitimate 
diamond industry, upon which several African countries depend for their 
economic and social development.
  A 3-year review of Kimberley Process implementation held earlier this 
month in Botswana revealed that while important progress has been made, 
serious loopholes remain and must be closed to stop diamonds from 
funding conflict in Africa and elsewhere. This meeting comes on the 
heels of a U.N. report which found that $23 million in conflict 
diamonds from Ivory Coast are being sold around the world, and that 
diamonds continue to cause instability and brutal human rights abuses 
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  As the largest consumer of diamonds in the world and a strong 
advocate for transparency and human rights, the U.S. should be setting 
an example by ensuring that its domestic certification system is 
effective and by working to strengthen the Kimberley Process. Just 2 
months ago, however, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released 
an in-depth study that revealed blood diamonds may be entering the

[[Page 22728]]

United States due to poor enforcement of the Clean Diamond Trade Act 
and a failure by the U.S. diamond industry to abide by its promise to 
police itself in support of the Kimberley Process.
  The 2003 Clean Diamond Act commissioned this GAO study to identify 
areas for improvement in domestic and international implementation of 
the Kimberley Process scheme, so it is now Congress's responsibility to 
ensure that the responsible government agencies and departments act 
upon the report's recommendations.
  The GAO reports that the U.S. does not inspect rough diamond imports 
or exports and so must rely on importers to confirm the legality of 
their wares. Official statistics show an excess of diamond exports over 
imports of 300,000 carats last year that cannot be accounted for, 
suggesting that some diamonds are entering the U.S. through informal 
channels. Clearly, existing U.S. controls are not strong enough and are 
insufficiently enforced. Similarly, the GAO study finds that 
implementation of the Kimberley Process scheme in Africa is severely 
constrained by the limited capacity and resources of these countries 
and the need to harmonize diamond trade and certification policies 
among these and other countries in the region.
  Both to discourage the mining and sale of blood diamonds and to 
promote legitimate diamond trade, the United States must initiate 
regular, independent, and systematic monitoring of diamond imports and 
exports. The American diamond industry must also adopt and enforce a 
credible system to make sure that companies are verifiably adhering to 
the scheme and responsibly sourcing diamonds. In addition to conducting 
oversight of these domestic activities, Congress needs to advocate and 
appropriate U.S. assistance for regional efforts to strengthen 
implementation of the Kimberley Process in Africa.
  The release of the film ``Blood Diamond'' coincides with the holiday 
shopping season, and it should remind us all that much work remains to 
put an end to the illicit diamond trade that continues to fuel 
violence, finance criminals, and exploit innocent people and their 
environments. I remain committed to improving the Kimberley Process 
scheme at home and abroad and promoting active leadership by the U.S. 
government and the American diamond industry towards ensuring that 
diamond mining contributes to sustainable development in Africa, rather 
than fueling conflict by financing criminal activity.

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