Blood Diamonds in Africa

Document from the year 2018 in the subject Economics - Industrial Economics, grade: 1, language: English, abstract: In 2012, CNN broadcasted an analysis on how diamonds fuel conflicts in Africa. The story rose out of the trial of Charles Taylor, a former President of Liberia, at the International Court for crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone. The civil war in Sierra Leone was funded by the proceeds from the illegal sales of the alluvial diamonds found in Sierra Leone. The abundant natural resource was used to kill and main the people it should have benefited. The RUF rebel forces as well as the government forces committed horrendous atrocities against the people of Sierra Leone most of whom still live with the scars inflicted by the rebels. The gross human rights violation involved the amputations of arms, legs, noses and ears if the victim was suspected of corroborating with the government. The Liberian government was also culpable in the human rights violation for having supported the rebels with arms and logistics.