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Conflict Diamonds Possibly Entering U.S.

A government report warns that "conflict diamonds" may be entering the United States, despite an international treaty barring trade in such gemstones. "Although many of these conflicts have now ended and the international community has taken steps to gain control of the rough diamond trade, the United Nations and other sources report that illicit trading of rough diamonds still exists and could potentially finance civil conflicts as well as criminal and terrorist activities."

"Conflict diamonds" have been used illegally to finance civil wars in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. A consortium of countries created the "Kimberly Process", a certificate system, in 2002 in order to certify the lawful origins of gemstones. The goal was to keep conflict diamonds off the market. Forty-six countries are part of the consortium.

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Diamond Trade Act, giving a variety of agencies the responsibility of monitoring the international diamond trade and America`s place within it. A key U.S. government agency has said the United States do not inspect rough diamonds to verify their origins, increasing the chances that rough diamonds mined in "conflict" countries could be mixing with legal diamonds within America.