Global Policy Forum

It is a perverse alchemy of diamonds that they are so easily transformed into arms. In Angola, Sierra Leone and Congo, warlords and terror groups mine diamonds to finance wars whose main purpose is control of those very diamond fields. This week legitimate diamond-producing nations, other governments and industry leaders are meeting in Botswana. Most of the participants have agreed on a diamond certification plan that would go a long way toward blocking the sale of illegally mined stones.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration is obstructing the agreement with an unreasonable demand that would severely weaken the accord. It has also substantially softened a bill in Congress that would help keep America from importing dirty diamonds.

The United Nations has banned the purchase of diamonds mined by the rebels in Sierra Leone and Angola, or sold by Liberia, a rogue state that possesses few diamonds but acts as an exporter for Sierra Leone rebels. These sanctions have failed, in part because it is easy for other nations to buy illegal diamonds and resell them.

The nations meeting in Botswana devised a system that would require every parcel of rough diamonds to travel with a passport stating its weight, value and provenance. Participants agree to provide these certificates, check the paperwork at each step and document their imports and exports to ensure that countries do not export more diamonds than they produce. The system will carry heavy financial penalties for violators.

The control plan will not stop every dirty diamond from reaching the market, but exporting them will become far riskier and more expensive. The agreement would shut out of the diamond trade nations that do not sign on to the principles. The Bush administration objects, arguing that other countries will find this unfair, and could bring a challenge under world trade laws.

African diamond producer countries have threatened to scuttle this final round of talks if Washington persists in its objection. The Africans argue, correctly, that allowing countries outside the agreement to trade diamonds would undercut the control process.

The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to pass a bill on Wednesday that would establish anemic American controls on diamonds mined in conflict zones. The administration opposed stronger controls despite a report in The Washington Post that the terrorist network Qaida has made millions of dollars selling diamonds mined by Sierra Leone's rebels.

Diamond buyers have long known that the proceeds from some stones finance wars, but the industry paid little attention to the provenance of its purchases until 1998, when the British organization Global Witness exposed the practice. When picketers began to assemble outside Tiffany Company, diamond producers and sellers realized that they were in trouble. Their product, completely dependent on consumer perception, was threatened unless jewelers could assure customers that strict controls would prevent them from buying tainted stones. Their self-interest led them to join with industry critics and diamond-producing and diamond-cutting nations in trying to pass strong controls. This unusual collaboration illustrates the widespread backing for tough measures to limit the sale of tainted diamonds. It is regrettable that the Bush administration is not joining in.

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