Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS): A Voluntary Multigroup Initiative to Control Trade in Conflict Diamonds

Abstract

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created in 2003 to control the illegal mining and trade of diamonds, variously called “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds,” from war-torn countries in Africa. Money earned from the sale of these diamonds has been used to finance ethnic and territorial fights by local warlords and tribal chiefs, culminating in systematic mass killings, gross human rights violations, atrocities against women and children, genocide and ethnic cleansing, forced migration, and sectarian violence against civilians. More often than not, these atrocities have been concentrated among the poorest countries in Africa.