MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

BLOOD DIAMOND
Padma Priya
Nidhi Shah
Sonali Jindal
Corporate Ethics and Governance Sagar Venkateshwar
10/16/2019 Karthik R
Romane Béchet
MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE

• 1999, Sierra Leone Civil War.

• Solomon Vandy, a fisherman, is forced to work in diamond

Leonardo Di Caprio/Danny Archer
mines, after his village is invaded by the rebels.

• He finds an incredible pink diamond and hides it.

Djimon Housoun /Solomon Vandy

• Solomon is arrested by the government’s army and in jail, he

meets, Danny Archer, a smuggler.

• They decide to create a partnership: Danny release Solomon

and propose to exchange the diamond by his missing family.

Jennifer Connely/Maddy Bowen

MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

BLOOD DIAMOND AND DIAMOND

INDUSTRY
Sierra Leone gained its independence from the UK in 1961

The following years were marked by significant

government corruption, inefficiency, and overall failure.
Public elections were violent and unsafe

By 1991, Sierra Leone was one of the most impoverished

countries in the world, and its citizens were dissatisfied with
their living conditions.

The Revolutionary United Front (RUF), captured the attention

of many individuals with their messages of rebellion. The RUF
united with the Liberian rebel group, National Patriotic Front of
Liberia (NPFL), and on March 23, 1991, the two attempted a
coup d’etat on the government of Momoh. RUF was able to
gain control of large areas of southern and eastern land
MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

NATURAL RESOURCE CURSE

The diamond mines have been the source of corruption and personal gain by government personnel since the 1930’s. The
DeBeers diamond company once financed mining efforts in Sierra Leone and provided a legal export trade route for the
valuable gems. They stopped their involvement in 1984, causing the government to lose revenue.
By the late 1980’s, the diamonds were being traded and sold illegally by private individuals. Attempts by the government
of Sierra Leone to stop this corruption were unsuccessful.
Sierra Leone is one of the several sub-Saharan African countries where the presence of natural resources has resulted in
political turmoil, violent conflict, and extreme underdevelopment. The most prevalent natural resource in Sierra Leone
is the diamond.

The RUF rebels took advantage of the easily accessible alluvial diamonds and the lack of government regulations
surrounding the industry. This combination allowed members of RUF to sell blood diamonds to obtain weapons.Many of
the blood diamonds from Sierra Leone were traded to the Liberian president in exchange for weapons and military
training from the AFRC.

After 11 years of civil war, more than 120,000 people were killed, and millions more fled the country in response to the violence
and insecurity. Over 5,000 children were recruited as child soldiers, drugged, and forced to participate in crimes against
humanity. RUF forces also carried out mass amputations of civilians’ arms, legs, ears, and lips, leaving tens of thousands of
people with mutilations.
MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond Stakeholders
• Take over whole villages. Capture men and children
Armed Rebels/Militia
• Use Diamond money to purchase weapons, illegal
groups
drugs
Revolutionary United
• Finance war against the government
Front(RUF)
• Mining up to $125 million of diamonds annually.
Blood diamond distributor
• UNSC diamond sanctions imposed in2000, lifted in
Child Soldiers
2003
• Poor government controls allow conflict diamonds
Government
to be certified as ‘conflict-free’
Mines
• Boycotting diamonds from certain countries,
Government policies
abstaining won’t make their problems disappear
Citizens
• Human right violations
Forced Labour
Dangerous working
conditions/Torture
Child Labour
Lack of education
 MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond Kimberly Process
INTERNATIONAL • Created in 2003 to slow conflict diamond trade
ORGANISATIONS • Certification of origin
World Diamond Council • Assure consumers that they were now financing war
Kimberly Process and human right abuses
Amnesty International • 30% lower price charged for diamonds without KP
UNICEF certificates
CONSUMERS
INTERNATIONAL DIAMOND INDUSTRY
Complicated Supply Chain • The social consious consumer is
• Nearly impossible to trace exactly the discouraged from purchasing
source of diamonds diamond
• De Beers controls whole supply chain from • FOREVERMARK brand: De Beers has
exploration to cutting and selling created its own brand that promise
• Some jewellers source only from countries responsible sourcing
with good human rghts record • Option 1: Canadian Diamonds- fully
traceable to orgin
India-Surat • Option2 : Lab created man-made
• Smuggled into the west coast from Dubai and diamonds
are sold to Surat traders who sell it in the • Option 3: Recycled Diamonds -
international market along with other polished diamond that was repurposed from
diamonds another piece of jewellery
MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

FUTURE OUTLOOK
1. When Maddy Bowen accuses Danny Archer of helping to prolong the conflict in
Sierra Leone by his smuggling activities, Archer says that the American appetite for
inexpensive diamond jewelry is just as much to blame. How should responsibility
be allocated?
• Now that there is a warranty system in place, it is easier for consumers to avoid
buying conflict diamonds. If consumers are aware that the gems they are buying
may be conflict diamonds, is there a moral difference between their actions and
those of Danny Archer?
• What is the responsibility of diamond corporations and retailers to ensure that
they are dealing with conflict-free diamonds?
• To what extent should consumers be responsible for investigating their purchases
before they buy? Is there a moral difference between buying blood diamonds and
buying goods produced in sweat shops
MARKETING & ETHICS – Blood Diamond

• In the future, KPCS may serve as a model for other international frameworks
designed to prevent trade in natural resources that is used to finance terrorism and
human rights abuses. Do you think that this can work for other industries where
abuses exist and if so, what are the ways that this can be implemented?
• Through diplomacy, UN peacekeeping forces, and finally British reinforcements, the
international community played an important role in ending the protracted,
complex, and bloody civil war in Sierra Leone. What is the responsibility of the
international community to intervene in countries such as Sierra Leone? What are
the arguments for and against intervention in countries racked by violence and
human rights abuses? When, if ever, is intervention justified, and who decides?

2. Although the film may have raised consciousness for a while, the NPR program of
2006 quotes a retailer and a human rights activist who both agree that its effects will
soon wear off. Do you agree? If so, how can these issues be kept alive?