Blood diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the recent civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau have been given the label. The term conflict resource refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1132, adopted on 8 October 1997, after expressing concern at the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an oil and arms embargo on the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1306, adopted on 5 July 2000, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998) and 1299 (2000), the Council decided to prohibit the direct or indirect import of rough diamonds from the country. The rebel Revolutionary United Front controlled 90% of the diamond-producing areas in Sierra Leone and was using diamonds to finance its operations.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1343, adopted unanimously on 7 March 2001, after recalling resolutions on Sierra Leone and the region, including resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998) and 1306 (2000), the Council demanded that Liberia end its support for rebels in Sierra Leone and threatened the imposition of wide-ranging sanctions unless the country complied with the Security Council.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1408, adopted unanimously on 6 May 2002, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001), 1395 (2002) and 1400 (2002) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended sanctions against Liberia for its support of rebels in the civil war in Sierra Leone.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1436, adopted unanimously on 24 September 2002, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for a further six months beginning on 30 September 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1458, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2003, after reaffirming Resolution 1408 (2002) on the situation in Liberia, and recognising the importance of implementing Resolution 1343 (2001), the Council re-established an expert panel to monitor the implementation of sanctions against the Liberian government including an arms embargo, travel ban for officials, and prohibitions on the import of its rough diamonds.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1470, adopted unanimously on 28 March 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for six months until 30 September 2003.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1478, adopted unanimously on 6 May 2003, after recalling resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001), 1395 (2002), 1400 (2002), 1408 (2002), 1458 (2003), 1467 (2003) and others on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended sanctions against the Liberian government for an additional period of twelve months until 7 May 2004 and imposed a ban on imports of its timber for ten months.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1508, adopted unanimously on 19 September 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for six months until 31 March 2004.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1519 was adopted unanimously on 16 December 2003. After recalling resolutions on the situation in Somalia, particularly resolutions 733 (1992), 1356 (2001), 1407 (2002), 1425 (2002) and 1474 (2003), the Council requested the establishment of a monitoring group to investigate violations of the arms embargo against the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1521, adopted unanimously on 22 December 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council established a monitoring body to oversee international sanctions against Liberia. It was the final Security Council resolution adopted in 2003.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1940, adopted unanimously on September 29, 2010, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, including resolutions 1132 (1997) and the 1171 (1998), the Council lifted an arms embargo and remaining sanctions against the country imposed in 1997.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1549, adopted unanimously on 17 June 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, particularly resolutions 1521 (2003) and 1532 (2004), the Council re-established an expert panel to oversee international sanctions against Liberia.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1579, adopted unanimously on 21 December 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended arms, timber and travel sanctions against the country for twelve months and a diamond ban for six months.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1607, adopted unanimously on 21 June 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended the embargo on Liberian diamonds for a further six months.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1683, adopted unanimously on June 13, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council adjusted the arms embargo against the country so that weapons and ammunition could be used for training purposes by the government, police and security forces.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1689, adopted unanimously on June 20, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council decided to continue sanctions against the import of diamonds from the country for six months, though similar restrictions relating to timber imports were lifted.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1760 was unanimously adopted on 20 June 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1819 was unanimously adopted on 18 June 2008.
