Since 1991, the RUF has fought to control Sierra Leon's rich diamond-producing areas. Those diamonds, transshipped through Liberia, Burkina Faso, and other countries, have provided the RUF with millions of dollars to buy sophisticated weapons. The RUF has forced millions of Sierra Leoneans from their homes and committed tens of thousands of abuses, including raping, recruitment of child soldiers, and the amputation of hands of thousands of children, men, and women. Despite the presence of over 10,000 UN peacekeepers, the RUF currently controls approximately three-fourths of Sierra Leone, and has spread the war over diamonds to neighboring Guinea. The link between diamonds and abuses in both Sierra Leone and Angola is so strong that the United Nations has imposed an embargo against diamonds from rebel-controlled areas of both countries.
Diamonds derive their unique value from consumers' association of the gem with love and commitment.
However, the international trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone and Angola have enriched and empowered some of the cruelest fighting forces in the world. Increasingly, diamonds are associated not with love but with rape and amputation by the RUF in Sierra Leone. It is vitally important that the trade in diamonds be reformed quickly so that their image is not irreparably damaged. Otherwise legitimate producers like South Africa will be seen as peddlers of war spoils rather than symbols of love, and value of all diamonds will be forever tarnished. Rough controls are basically a chain of warranties that diamonds are mined in legitimate producing countries.