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 1181, adopted unanimously on 13 July 1998, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council established the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) to monitor the military and security situation in the country for an initial period of six months until 13 January 1999.
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 1370, adopted unanimously on 18 September 2001, after recalling resolutions 1270 (1999), 1289 (2000), 1313 (2000), 1317 (2000), 1321 (2000) and 1346 (2001) on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for a period of six months until 31 March 2002, beginning from 30 September 2001.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1385, adopted unanimously on 19 December 2001, after recalling all resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly resolutions 1132 (1997), 1171 (1998), 1299 (2000) and 1306 (2000), the Council extended sanctions against the import of rough diamonds except those controlled by the government from the country for a further 11 months, beginning on 5 January 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1400, adopted unanimously on 28 March 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 until 30 September 2002 in the run up to the May 2002 general elections.
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 1459, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2003, after recalling resolutions 1173 (1998), 1295 (2000), 1306 (2000), 1343 (2001), 1385 (2001) and 1408 (2002) concerning the illicit trade in diamonds, the Council expressed support for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).
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 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 1537, adopted unanimously on 30 March 2004, 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 2004 with a residual force remaining in the country until June 2005.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1562 was adopted unanimously on 17 September 2004. 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) residual presence for a period of nine months until 30 June 2005.
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 1753 was unanimously adopted on 27 April 2007.
Sylvester E. Rowe is a former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations. He joined the Mission in 1997 as an adviser after a distinguished career in the United Nations Secretariat spanning three decades during which he served in several capacities including head of the UN Radio and Television Services; a speech writer and Spokesman for the President of the 39th session of the UN General Assembly (1984–85), and a member of the panel of counsel in the UN administration of justice system – the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal. In 1994 he served as a resource person in Ambassador Brahimi's special mission on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to Liberia and the ECOWAS Chair in Ghana, aimed at facilitating implementation of the Cotonou Peace Agreement for Liberia.
