ABSTRACT
Rough diamonds are not the only natural resource linked to violent conflict, but they have gained much notoriety through their association with civil wars in Sierra Leone and Angola, among other countries. Although diamonds did not cause these wars, they were a major funding source, allowing the fighting to continue. In the late 1990s, an intense international outcry against these “blood diamonds” led to the creation of an international governance framework to sever the link between the gems and the violence they facilitated.
