Introduction The expression ‘conflict’ or ‘blood diamonds’ describes renegade armed militias in certain regions of Africa who control the extraction and export of unregulated diamonds and use the profits to finance armed campaigns. These ‘conflicts’ have resulted in the slaughter, torture, and rape of an untold number of innocent civilians and have led to the displacement of millions. This discussion profiles the ‘blood diamond’ industry and the problems it creates then concludes with suggestions to alleviate this horrific humanitarian catastrophe. Blood Diamonds Diamonds Symbolize Love and Atrocity Diamonds are commonly associated with glamour, love, and affluence but the discovery that they were financing conflicts in Sierra Leone, The Congo, Liberia, and Angola took the ‘shine off the stone.’ “In some African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo tens of thousands of civilians have over the past years been killed or tortured and millions have been displaced” (International Secretariat, 2006). Many came to realize that they not only financed genocide and other acts of vulgar inhumanity by purchasing a diamond but were also wearing and flaunting this symbol of human suffering. The main source of this horrific revelation to the world community was last year’s movie ‘Blood Diamond’ which attempted to alert the masses to the atrocities occurring in Africa. Until then, this situation was largely ignored by Western governments and news media. In one scene of the movie, the character Maddy Bowen witnesses a massive refugee camp that contains more than a million displaced, poverty-stricken, desperate people and says “we’ll only get a glimpse of it in CNN, somewhere between Sports and Weather” (Zwick, 2006). Diamonds are Attractive to More than Brides Rebel militias deal in the illegal diamond trade for many reasons. The most obvious is that diamond’s value-to-weight ratio is very high which allows for great amounts of capital to be easily transported. Diamonds are mined with low-profile, rudimentary tools and in various regions, many of which are remote making it all but impossible to adequately patrol. Additionally, determining the source of individual diamonds is tremendously problematic although efforts have been made in this respect such as the Angolan government issuing tamper-proof ‘certificates of origin.’ In this nation, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), an anti-government group backed by the U.S. government, is heavily involved in the extraction and distribution of illegal diamonds. The first year these tighter controls were enacted, UNITA profits dropped but it was also at this time (1999-2000) that this group lost a portion of its mines as a result of losing the decades-long civil war it had fought with the government. Though the initial reports were promising, the issuance of certificates has in effect done little to stem the sale of ‘blood diamonds.’ “UNITA is still trading in illicit diamonds, has access to funds abroad, and its officials are traveling freely in several countries outside Angola” (Goreux, 2001). The value of illegal diamonds mined and traded by rebel armies reaches into the billions of pound