Kimberley Process Failed Blood Diamonds

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme began in 2003 to stop conflict diamonds from entering the mainstream rough-diamond market. Its system depended on certificates and government compliance, but critics said weak enforcement, smuggling, secrecy in trading centers, and limited monitoring left the process open to abuse. Global Witness, one of the campaign groups that helped bring blood diamonds to global attention, abandoned the scheme in 2011 and said it had failed to stop conflict diamonds. Human Rights Watch and other critics later argued that the process remained too narrow, making it difficult for buyers to know whether a diamond was truly free from violence and corruption.

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