Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Diamond dealer in Sierra Leone
A dealer sorts diamonds in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor is alleged to have been given blood diamonds in return for helping rebels. Photograph: Tugela Ridley/EPA/Corbis
A dealer sorts diamonds in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor is alleged to have been given blood diamonds in return for helping rebels. Photograph: Tugela Ridley/EPA/Corbis

Everything you need to know about blood diamonds

This article is more than 13 years old
What is the background to Naomi Campbell's appearance at Charles Taylor's war crimes tribunal?

What are blood diamonds?

Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are defined by the UN as gems that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognised governments, and are used to fund military action against those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the UN security council. They have funded conflicts in Africa that have led to the death and displacement of millions of people. Diamonds have also been used by terrorist groups such as al-Qaida to finance their activities and for money-laundering purposes.

Why is Charles Taylor on trial at The Hague?

The former Liberian president is being tried on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international law committed during Sierra Leone's civil war. The alleged crimes specifically include murdering and mutilating civilians, using women and girls as sex slaves, and abducting adults and children and making them perform forced labour or become fighters.

Taylor is charged on the basis of his alleged role as a major backer of the Sierra Leone rebel group the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and close association with a second warring faction, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. He is alleged to have been rewarded with blood diamonds from Sierra Leone in return for helping Foday Sankoh's RUF. The RUF was notorious for tactics such as mass rapes and amputations during a conflict that left between 50,000 and 200,000 dead before it was formally declared over in 2002. Sankoh was also indicted for war crimes but died from a stroke while awaiting trial at The Hague.

Why was Naomi Campbell called as a witness?

The supermodel was called to testify by the prosecution for having allegedly received a diamond as a gift from Taylor in 1997. There is no suggestion that Campbell knew the possible origin of the diamond. She admitted in court to receiving "dirty-looking" diamonds that she was later told came from Taylor.

Prosecutors say the story, if true, would back up allegations that Taylor traded guns to neighbouring Sierra Leone rebels in exchange for uncut diamonds. The prosecution argues that the diamond allegedly given to Campbell was likely to have been part of a batch obtained by Taylor from Sierra Leone and taken to South Africa for sale or exchange for arms.

What efforts have been made to stop the trade in such gems?

In May 2000 the major diamond trading and producing countries, representatives of the diamond industry, and NGOs such as Global Witness met in Kimberley, South Africa, to establish an international diamond certification scheme known as the Kimberley Process. Under the scheme all diamonds traded by member countries are certified so that buyers can be sure they are conflict-free.

In Zimbabwe the government has been accused of human rights abuses when it seized control of the diamond area of Mutare, in the east. The military killed or tortured hundreds of panners after a diamond rush in 2008 that attracted tens of thousands, lured by the prospect of riches. Human rights groups are particularly critical of the decision by the Kimberley group to allow Zimbabwe to export diamonds despite well-documented abuses.

Only a few African economies have benefited from diamonds, while Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sierra Leone are still recovering from widespread devastation resulting from wars fuelled by diamonds. Diamonds are being smuggled out of the rebel-held north of Ivory Coast and out of eastern DRC, and continue to be used for money laundering, tax evasion and organised crime.

Most viewed

Most viewed