Dark side of dream stones: The network of illicit diamonds

*I am not taking the second module

Background

Over the decades, mining diamonds has been the deep-rooted cause for forced labor, especially child labor.[i] In the Republic of Congo, 10% of the whole population depends on diamond mining for their economic resources; this fact reveals how diamond mining cannot be detached from people’s lives, despite the hazardous working condition.[ii] This is also found that some of the child labors have been trafficked from refugee camps or other conflict areas.[iii] Hundreds of miners die every year in tunnel collapses, and many children are the victims because they have better mobilities in small tunnels and dangerous underground.[iv]

International measures to tackle these issues have been taken, yet most of those policies target only “conflict or ‘blood’ diamonds.” According to the United Nations, those diamonds are “from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council."[v] States have adopted the Kimberly Process, a system to track the origin of diamonds, and this seems to work accordingly and enhance public awareness against such conflict diamonds. However, there is little improvement in the mining environments, and voice against other types of illegal diamonds is still small. In fact, illegal diamonds are still circulated in the market. This continuous supply of illegal diamonds is due to the corruption of exploitation companies with governments and the leading brands not comprehending the origins of gemstones they use.  

For instance, one of the biggest diamond exploitation companies Koidu Limited in Sierra Leone was corrupted with the national and local government, violating the local residents’ human rights and slowing down the Kimberly Process.[vi] Furthermore, leading brands such as Rolex, Cartier and Bulgari are failing to show that all their gemstones are not linked to broader human rights abuses.[vii] Such attitudes of top brands can promote illegal diamonds and worsen the working environments in the mines.  

Analyzing the diamond market network will contribute to such leading brands to identify the flaws in their diamond sources and to improve their network for a better network. At the same time, the network analysis will be able to classify mines that violating human rights and protect miners from it. In conclusion, this project aims to stop the continuing human rights violation in the diamond mines.   

Research objective

              Social network analysis will be used to identify the flow of the illicit diamonds in Africa, the biggest diamond-producing continent in the world. Analysis of the network between heads of local miners, employees and executives of exploitation corporations and trade companies, the jewelry brands, and possibly high government officials will enable to reveal the illegal transfer of diamonds and hidden network between individuals. Furthermore, this analysis can eliminate illegal diamonds circulating in the market and can prevent brands and customers from being part of the illicit network.

Hypothesis

              The whole network will be the collection of weak ties, individuals serving as a bridge connecting cliques because it is assumed that each mine is not connected with other mines, and exploitation companies will primarily connect mines with brands. Consequently, the employees in exploitation corporations will be the hub of the network. S/he will have the highest degree and lowest closeness. Furthermore, the heads of miners will have a lower degree, yet his or her information will be highly valued by the center of the network.

Overall, the key network will be the one between the head of local miners and employees of exploitation corporations and another between the top of exploitation corporations and high government officials. It is possible that the local head of the mining site is strongly connected with the exploitation corporations to hide inhumane working conditions, and government officials might be in a close touch with tops of exploitation corporations to allow illegal diamonds to be produced.

Data and methodology

              There are lists of diamond mining companies[viii] and diamond mines[ix] available online (although Wikipedia), so the first step of creating this network will be to find the connections between these companies and mines. Furthermore, many mining companies’ holding companies are based in Europe, indicating the further network with the leading brands and their executives. The background information of individuals, including education, career, and locations, will be essential as for attribute data of the network.  

              A survey will be helpful to analyze the network within the mines and mining companies because the job titles or experience will not be the only indicators to measure centrality. The survey questions will include how often you have contacts with people from other sectors (miners with employees of mining companies, vice-versa) and if they have any connections or knowledge of corruption with government officials or smugglers. Moreover, asking whether they are aware of the harmful working conditions and whether they are advised or have advised gathering cheaper labors will help assess the working environment.    

Limitation

              It is challenging to collect data from miners, for even the mining sites themselves would not have recorded miners’ information. We have to be careful with ways to ask questions including the languages to use. Furthermore, it is possible that the local miners are voluntarily trafficking, without the mine holders realizing it. In that way, this network analysis may not function as expected. Also, there will be underground groups involved in the illicit diamonds transfers including thieves and smugglers. It will be difficult to track their path, but if possible, their network could significantly contribute to this analysis, possibly revealing the connections between key individuals and smugglers.

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[i] Paul Armstrong, “What are ‘conflict diamonds’?” CNN, December 5, 2011, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html

[ii] Aryn Baker, “Blood Diamonds,” Time, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://time.com/blood-diamonds/

[iii] https://www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html

[iv] Aryn Baker, https://time.com/blood-diamonds/

[v] “General Assembly Reaffirms Strong, Ongoing Support for Kimberley Process Targeting Global Trade in ‘Blood Diamonds’, by One of Four Resolutions,” The United Nations, December 16, 2010, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://www.un.org/press/en/2010/ga11039.doc.htm

[vi] “Blood Diamonds and Land Corruption,” Transparency International, August 2, 2019, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/blood_diamonds_and_land_corruption

[vii] Henry Sanderson, “Top jewellery brands failing to ensure gold, diamonds mined ethically, Human Rights Watch says,” Financial Times, February 8, 2018, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/9a9355a4-0cc3-11e8-8eb7-42f857ea9f09

[viii] “Diamond mining companies,” Wikipedia, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Diamond_mining_companies

[ix] “List of Diamond Mines,” Wikipedia, Accessed on October 19, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diamond_mines