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Blood Diamonds: The Sierra Leone Civil War

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Charles Taylor a former Liberian President on May 30, 2012 was sentenced to 50 years in prison for aiding and abetting during the Sierra Leone civil war. The Special Court of Sierra Leone found him guilty on 11 counts of crimes such as terrorism, murder, and enslavement. Liberia and Sierra Leone Taylor was the first Liberian government official to be found guilty for receiving royalties from illegal diamond mines that were exchanged for armored weapons and utilities. The conflict or “blood” diamond is a term referencing the illegal smuggling and trading of rocks that are used to fund rebel forces to wage crimes in underprivileged areas like Liberia and Sierra Leone. As a result of events in Liberia conflict diamonds have embedded a cycle …show more content…
The De Beers industry had gained control of the diamond mines, which influenced economic trade through uses of forced labor as a way to implement illegal diamond mines for financial gain. Thus, native lands of Sierra Leone and Liberia have since began illegally smuggling and trafficking conflict diamonds and weapons to rebel forces like the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) supported by Charles Taylor. The diamond industry’s distribution upon native countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea is monetary gain in relationship to it allowing the indigenous people to commit violent acts in exchange for a conflict diamonds.
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel force turned political party that Charles Taylor helped fund for monetary means and control through the expense of war crimes from conflict diamonds. According to the Journal of Financial Crime by author Elizabeth J.A. Rodgers publication on “Conflict Diamonds” describes the connection of how RUF rebels violent acts and war crimes on the natives of Liberia were because the diamonds industries distribution of conflict diamonds. Rodgers describes corruption due to economic trade between native lands as she …show more content…
As similar in the previous case conflict diamonds were a staple in the connection between illegal world trade and injustice amongst underdeveloped countries. Simon Howell and Atta-Asamoah, the authors review Africa’s illegal trade with drugs rather than conflict diamonds which we’re a huge factor in there being trade. Thus, the article is not relevant to explaining fully African countries and the ways diamonds impacted those countries within

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