Blood Diamond: Sierra Leone Case (Continue)

"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds." Martin Chungong Ayafor, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts.

After years of conflict, the government in Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) signed the the Lome Peace Agreement, which stated the stopping of aggression, the disarming of both parts and the development of one government.
Then, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was established by political organizations. This organization watched if both parts could accomplish with the agreement. Nowadays, it is one of the main peacekeeping forces in Africa.
Currently in Sierra Leone, the Government monitors the trade of rough diamonds. Now, in order to import diamonds from the country, the diamonds must have a Certificate of Origin. Arms have been monitored as well. Government has seized weapons and is watching carefully what the members of the rebel groups are doing.
This case is being studied by a group of experts (Sierra Leone Panel of Experts), including people from other countries such as India, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, among others. They state how the agreement is being fulfilled, and other social issues in Sierra Leone.
However, the diamond trade is still considered as the main factor of the conflict in this country. Even though some people are getting involved in campaigns to help others, children (mainly) and the society are still very damaged and concerned for this issue, since they are the ones who suffered the most.

Blood Diamond: Sierra Leone Case

Blood diamonds are diamonds originated in areas controlled by forces opposed to the current governments. They are used for insurgent groups to fund war, which means that with the money they obtain, they buy weapons and gun and do other illegal activities. It is stated that these precious stones (also known as war diamonds) are a crucial factor that makes brutal wars in Africa last longer. In Sierra Leone, conflict diamonds continue supporting rebel groups, such as Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which acts totally against the will of restoring peace in the continent.

People in Sierra Leone deserve a good life, but these groups are making it impossible. These groups invade the villages and maltreat people; they kill children and men, they injure them, they rape girls and women, and many people have been taken from away their families by rebel groups to work in the mine, and if they try to rebel or even tire, the soldiers hurt(like the boy in the photo, he lost his hands to the rebel's machetes) or kill them. More than 4 million people have died mining blood diamonds. This is a huge social issue in Sierra Leone because of the people suffering during mining these precious stones.

The horrific atrocities in Sierra Leone have caught world’s attention and people have realized that it is needed to stop the trade of these precious stones in order to cut off the sources of the rebels so wars can be shortened.