Are blood diamonds still a problem in 2026?

Question

Accepted Answer

Largely no, in the original sense. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has covered ninety-nine per cent of the global rough diamond trade since its 2003 implementation. Conflict-funded diamonds are now estimated at less than one per cent of the trade. But the KP only addresses one specific risk (rebel-group-financing of rough extraction). Lab-grown ethics, mining-region labour conditions, and cutting-house labour are separate questions the KP does not cover. The 1990s and early 2000s saw rough diamonds finance civil wars in Sierra Leone, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia. Industry estimates placed conflict diamonds at four to fifteen per cent of the global rough trade at peak. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, implemented in January 2003, was the trade's response. What the KP does. Every rough diamond crossing an international border must travel with a tamper-resistant, government-issued KP certificate. Eighty-five participating countries representing approximately ninety-nine per cent of global rough production audit each other against the scheme. South African dealers must produce a written warranty referencing the KP on every invoice they issue. The result is that conflict-funded rough diamonds, in the strict KP definition, are estimated at less than one per cent of the trade in 2026. What the KP does not do. It does not regulate environmental practice in mining. It does not regulate labour conditions in cutting and polishing centres (Surat, Mumbai, Antwerp). It does not certify the lab-grown trade, which sits entirely outside its scope. It does not address the smuggling routes that move small volumes of uncertified rough across borders. Practical: in 2026, the South African buyer purchasing from a SA dealer is buying a KP-compliant stone with documented origin from a SA mine. That covers the original "blood diamond" concern fully. If a buyer wants to address the broader ethical concerns, the questions to ask the dealer are about specific mine of origin, mining conditions, and cutting facility. The full Kimberley Process scope is in What the Kimberley Process actually requires of an SA dealer. The lab-grown side is in Lab-grown in 2026: a position.