Adverse economic, health, environmental, and human rights consequences of the global diamond trade

Diamonds are beautiful symbols of love. The majority of engagements in the US (as well as other developed countries) are consecrated with diamond rings. The 120 million carats of rough diamonds mined for jewelry annually cost less than $2 billion to extract, yet ultimately sell for over $50 billion. The dark side to diamonds is that the world diamond trade results in adverse health, economic, environmental, and human rights consequences, which this session will address. The history of diamond mining will be described, along with the tremendous success of diamond marketing and the background of the “A Diamond is Forever” slogan. The economic costs and environmental hazards of diamond mining will be analyzed. The world diamond trade will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the “casino economy,” in which the desperately poor work under dangerous conditions and earn a pittance, while profits flow predominantly out of local communities and to exporters, dealers, and corporations based in the developed world. The link between diamond mining and war, human rights abuses, and terrorism will be explored. The effectiveness of national and international agreements designed to limit the trade in “blood diamonds” will be analyzed. Alternatives to diamonds as gifts of love will be suggested, along with opportunities for citizen education and activism.

Copies of the following will be available: Donohoe MT. Flowers, diamonds, and gold: The destructive human rights and environmental consequences of symbols of love. Human Rights Quarterly 2008 (February, in press).