Kimberly Process and Blood Diamond Trade Are State Institutions enough

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December 14, 2017
The Kimberly Process and the Blood Diamond Trade – Are State Institutions enough?
Diamonds are one of the most precious commodities that are being circulated throughout the world market. These shiny precious minerals have been an essential part of our lives as it presents a multitude of uses including those related to production, technology, and especially luxury. These days, the price of a single 1carat diamond could reach up to $12,000 dollars and this increases even significantly as this measure goes up (Cowell). However, it would not come as a surprise that throughout histories, plenty of diamonds have been acquired at the expense of the rights of human beings (Moodie). Issues like slavery, extortion, and torture relating to the acquisitions of these diamonds have been circulated mass media, a phenomenon commonly known as “Blood Diamond” (Encyclopædia Britannica). Nonetheless, thanks to the efforts of many institutions including states and organizations that considerable efforts and resources are now being forwarded to curb these issues relating to the entry of illegally obtained diamonds into the mainstream market, a process called the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) (GlobalPolicy.org). The aim, fair and simple, to curb and prevent the human rights violations committed by groups and organizations to the impoverished individuals forced to work in search of these stones. Ever since its adaptation in 2003, it is estimated that about 52 governments around the world have already adopted the KPCS in their own constitutions (GlobalPolicy.org). This includes African nations, whose citizens are the most vulnerable to these abuses due to a microcosm of factors including the impoverished conditions for living, lack of agencies against human rights violations from the state, as well as the huge amount of untapped resources in the region. In the recent reports, it is said that even the Democratic Republic of Congo – which is one of the most notorious states with regards to human rights violations – is now taking an active stance to address the issue as they closely monitor and provide certifications for all the 180 mines that are operating within the country. A simple testament that a significant part of the world is already engaged towards preventing any violence in exchange for luxury or any other commodity (Encyclopædia Britannica).
Yet, despite all of these efforts, I think that we are yet to realize some gaps in this process. On one hand, we must notice that the number of the countries above are significantly less than the 195 countries today as recognized by the United Nations. On the other hand, we must also acknowledge that this issue on blood diamonds are affected by the same rules of economics just as any other products in the market, such as the law of the demand and the supply (Mala...