Diamonds are a symbol of wealth and happiness. Yet diamonds are the resource helping fuel poverty and civil war for many residents of Africa. What can diamond consumers do to stop this trend?

Teaching the News first introduced the problem of "conflict diamonds" in a February 2000 article, "Diamonds Are a Guerrilla's Best Friend." Conflict diamonds are plundered by paramilitary factions and sold abroad to finance their armed struggles.

In July 2000 the United Nations Security Council imposed a worldwide ban on the sale of conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. Diamonds that are traded with a certificate of authenticity from the Government of Sierra Leone are exempt from the ban.

A rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front, controls about 90% of Sierra Leone's diamond-producing areas. In the first half of 2000, the group made about $70 million through illegal trade of diamonds in legal diamond markets. This income fuels the civil war in this west African nation.

In 18 months the Security Council will review the embargo's effectiveness and decide on its future. One determining factor will be the control Sierra Leone's government has over the diamond-producing areas.

• Students can read more about the U.N. decision in the CNN.com article, "U.N. Security Council bans sale of Sierra Leone diamonds."
  

• Students can read a United Nations press release concerning the decision.
  
  

• Students can read about the diamond industry's response in the CNN.com article, "Diamond industry reacts to charges that it's letting trade in 'blood diamonds' pay for African wars."
  
  

Teaching the Problem

Diamonds can be studied in many different contexts. The following information and activities are taken from Riverdeep's SimLibrary and from the American Museum on Natural History's online exhibit, The Nature of Diamonds.

Earth Science: Diamonds are created deep in Earth's mantle. Students can learn how they are formed, how they move to Earth's surface, etc. in the section Diamonds Tell Us About Earth at the AMNH exhibit.

Chemistry: Diamonds are a form of pure carbon. Students can study carbon in the periodic table using the Chemistry Gateways activities, Periodic Table: An Introduction and Periodic Table Tool.

Diamonds are very hard because of their crystal structure, in which each carbon atom is connected to four other carbon atoms by strong chemical bonds. When a chemical bond is formed between two elements, only the outermost electrons are involved. Students can explore bonds between atoms in the Chemistry Gateways activity, Lewis Structures: Atoms.

Then they can read more about the chemical properties of diamonds in the section Diamond is Special at the AMNH exhibit.

Physics: Diamonds owe their sparkling brilliance to their high index of refraction and their ability to disperse white light. Students can learn more about these concepts in the Physics Explorer activity: Dispersion of White Light.

They can also learn more about the physics of diamonds in the section Diamond is Special at the AMNH exhibit.

Analyzing the Problem

By studying the dilemma over diamonds from many different angles, students can begin to understand the complexity of the issue.

In the news articles, students read a little about the economic and political value of diamonds. In the activities, they examined the science of diamonds. Now have them learn something about the history of diamonds in the section History at the AMNH exhibit. They can learn more about the role of diamonds in industry in the section Industry and Technology.

• Students who want to learn more about the many facets of diamonds can visit the following sites:
  
  
  • NOVA Online: The Diamond Deception: This site examines many aspects of diamonds, including the possibility that some diamonds found on Earth originated in outer space. It includes interactive activities like building a carbon atom out of quarks and electrons, and manipulating a simulated diamond crystal.
    
    
  • Hope Diamond and the CNN.com article, "Smithsonian to exhibit world's two most famous diamonds": Read the history of these famous stones to see the role of diamonds in history.
• Students who are interested in learning more about how natural resources are exploited in the conflicts on the African continent can read these reports:
  
  
  • A Newsweek report, "The Gems of War."
    
    
  • The Global Witness report, "A Rough Trade: The Role of Diamonds in Angola in the 1990's"
    
    
  • Secretary General's Report to the U.N. Security Council, 16 April 1998, The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa: