06/17/02 | Partnership Africa Canada Report, June 17, 2002

War in the Congo - Grievance or Greed? Major New Report Exposes the Blood Diamond Connection

In a report released on June 17, Partnership Africa Canada has linked the wars in Angola and the Congo, along with other conflicts in Central Africa, to the massive illicit trade in conflict diamonds. Carefully researched over the past 18 months in conjunction with the Belgian International Peace Information Service, Hard Currency: The Criminalized Diamond Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its Neighbours adds important new findings to the debate about ‘conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds’.

Author Christian Dietrich demonstrates that the polite definitions used by governments, the UN Security Council and the diamond industry to deal with conflict diamonds only serve to restrict debate and action on one of the most horrific conflicts of the past half century. He defines the conflict in regional terms, showing that the wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Angola have been inextricably linked to each other through criminal networks and a trans-border lust for wealth and power. The wars have been sustained by diamonds and have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Decades of turmoil in the Central African Republic also have their roots in the diamond trade, with the capital, Bangui, serving as a conduit for diamonds stolen from other countries.

The full report (60 pages) is available at www.partnershipafricacanada.org or in print format from Partnership Africa Canada, 323 Chapel St., Ottawa, ON K1N 7Z2, Canada for $20.00. Bulk copies of the summary report (also available on-line) are available at the minimal cost to cover shipping and handling.

Susan Isaac
Project Officer Human Security and the International Diamond Trade in Africa
Partnership Africa Canada
323 Chapel Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 7Z2 Canada
Tel:(613) 237-6768
Fax: (613) 237-6530

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