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Text: U.S. Lawmakers Consider Conflict Diamond Legislation

Cong. Wolf testifies before House subcommittee
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on September 13 heard
testimony regarding legislation that, if passed, would impose import
restrictions on known "conflict diamond areas" in West Africa.
The legislation also would implement a process to certify the origin
of diamonds, and create a permanent representative within the
executive branch of the U.S. government to deal with conflict
diamonds.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, Congressman Frank R. Wolf
(Republican of Virginia) said in testimony before the Subcommittee on
Trade, some 1.7 million people "have died because of the fight to
control its natural resources, primarily diamonds." Currently, he
said, eight countries are involved in "this terrible conflict -- many
with a direct interest in the diamond trade."
In Sierra Leone, he said, "aside from the shocking reality of live
amputations and children soldiers, an estimated 75,000 people have
died because of the rebels' vicious campaign to control the country's
diamonds."
According to Wolf, certain countries surrounding Sierra Leone "play a
major role in facilitating this chaos," though many "have few to zero
diamond mines. Yet countries such as Liberia, Burkina Faso, Togo, and
the Ivory Coast have exported millions of carats of diamonds -- Sierra
Leone's diamonds -- billions of dollars in value -- to the
diamond-cutting centers in Antwerp, Israel, India, Holland, and New
York."
Wolf called the legislation "urgently necessary," saying that it is
flexible and takes into account the technical realities of tracing
diamond origin.
While acknowledging the "political realities of any large-scale U.S.
involvement in Africa," he asked: "Shouldn't we at least take minimal
steps to alleviate massive suffering? Addressing conflict diamonds is
one such step. Our affluence should not be someone else's nightmare."
Wolf said that failure to act "will have disastrous consequences for
all involved" in conflict diamond areas.
Following is the text of Wolf's statement as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Statement of the Honorable Frank R. Wolf, M.C., Virginia
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Trade
of the House Committee on Ways and Means
Hearing on Trade in African Diamonds
September 13, 2000
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would also like to thank the committee,
including the staff, for organizing and conducting this hearing on
this extremely important issue.
First, I must acknowledge my fellow panel member and good friend
Congressman Tony Hall for doing so much to bring attention to this
important global matter. He has been out front on this issue as long
as anyone, and deserves the credit for moving the process forward to
address this immediate problem.
Mr. Chairman, millions of people have died in Africa because of the
bloodshed surrounding conflict diamonds. Rebel groups and military
forces in Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo have committed horrible atrocities to gain control of and to
profit from diamonds. At least $10 billion [$10,000 million] in
diamonds have been smuggled from these countries over the past decade.
In the Congo, some 1.7 million people have died because of the fight
to control Congo's natural resources, primarily diamonds. Thirty-five
percent of these deaths are to children under the age of five. There
are currently eight countries involved in this terrible conflict --
many with a direct interest in the diamond trade.
Many in this room are familiar with the sad story of Angola, where the
rebel movement UNITA pays for weapons and kills people in order to
maintain control of Angola's diamonds.
In Sierra Leone, aside from the shocking reality of live amputations
and children soldiers, an estimated 75,000 people have died because of
the rebels' vicious campaign to control the country's diamonds.
Mr. Chairman, sometimes we speak in numbers and figures on the
atrocities of Africa and the reality just doesn't sink in. The thought
of a million deaths -- it doesn't seem real. "Rebel atrocities" is a
term that may not sink in until we actually see it. The picture behind
me is of a two-year-old Sierra Leonean girl.
She asks her mom whether her arm will grow back. She will likely never
wear a diamond ring. To this little girl, diamonds have a very
different meaning than we are used to. Can you imagine if this image
was connected in the American consumer's mind to diamonds -- the
symbols of eternal love and commitment?
Sierra Leone is a country that is blessed with diamonds and an
abundance of other natural resources, a scenic coastline and beautiful
people, yet today it is cursed as one of the worst places in the
world. The average lifespan is now about 25 years, the citizens are
terrified and, as one periodical described, it is a place where angels
fear to tread.
I would like to focus on Sierra Leone and West Africa ... where the
scramble for diamonds and the link between diamonds and atrocities is
the most direct. Mr. Hall and I visited Sierra Leone last December and
met and talked with hundreds of people who had their arms, legs or
hands cut off by Sierra Leonean rebels -- all to scare and intimidate
the local population so the rebels could gain control of Sierra
Leone's diamond-producing region.
Certain countries surrounding Sierra Leone play a major role in
facilitating this chaos. Many of these countries surrounding Sierra
Leone have few to zero diamond mines. Yet countries such as Liberia,
Burkina Faso, Togo, and the Ivory Coast have exported millions of
carats of diamonds -- Sierra Leone's diamonds -- billions of dollars
in value -- to the diamond-cutting centers in Antwerp, Israel, India,
Holland, and New York.
While officially denied by representatives of these governments, the
U.S. intelligence community and numerous other sources possess a wide
array of evidence that documents this illicit diamond smuggling. As of
now, certain leaders have a direct financial incentive to keep the
"rebellion" in Sierra Leone going, to prevent peace and therefore
sustain their access to Sierra Leone's precious stones.
Liberia and its president, Charles Taylor, supply weapons to the
rebels in exchange for diamonds. In 1998 Liberia, whose natural
resources would allow the exportation of approximately $10 million
worth of diamonds, exported $297 million worth of diamonds. Other
countries in the area have either served as direct arms suppliers or
transit points for diamonds and arms into and out of Sierra Leone.
This incentive structure also existed for weapons exchanges between
governments and diamond stealing rebel groups in the case of Angola
and the Congo.
The industry has long maintained that conflict diamonds account for
only about 4 percent of the world trade. If this were true I still
believe that this is 4 percent too much. There are others that will
testify today that this figure is likely higher. Plain common sense
tells us that these diamonds are going somewhere -- someone is buying
them and somehow the rebels are gaining access to arms and supplies.
Whatever the figure, we believe that the industry has a responsibility
to stop this revenue incentive for African atrocities. Also, the
legitimate industry has a strong financial incentive to remedy this
situation. The U.S. consumes over 65 percent of the world's diamonds.
A U.S. consumer boycott, similar to the fur industry, would cripple
diamonds. Legitimate diamond-producing countries such as Botswana and
South Africa could become seriously destabilized and many of their
citizens' livelihoods jeopardized.
I joined Congressman Tony Hall in introducing the Consumer Access to a
Responsible Accounting and Trade Act of 2000. This legislation, which
combines elements of Congressman Hall's earlier diamond certification
legislation with language that was in the FY 2001 Treasury/Postal
Appropriations bill, combines import restrictions from known conflict
diamond areas in West Africa with implementing a certification scheme
for diamond origin, something the industry has already expressed an
interest in achieving. This legislation also goes further than
previous legislation by creating a permanent representative within the
executive branch to deal with conflict diamonds.
Mr. Chairman, this legislation is urgently necessary. It is flexible
and takes into account the technical realities of tracing diamond
origin. This panel will hear testimony today on some of the specific
implementation issues that are involved and the feasibility of
enforcing any import restriction. I am not here to testify about the
technology that could potentially be used for enforcement. However, I
will say that a failure to do anything will have disastrous
consequences for all involved. The status quo will mean more death,
more suffering and more instability on a continent that has suffered
too much.
Mr. Chairman, in closing I would like to make one more comment. The
issue of conflict diamonds goes to the larger issue of Africa. The
problems of Africa, the misery of Africa, is our misery. We cannot in
the year 2000 ignore the tragedies that go on there. For hundreds of
years this continent has been exploited and the people have suffered
more than anyone should have to suffer.
This beautiful and vast continent has been cursed by its abundance.
Places like Sierra Leone, the Congo and others I haven't mentioned
like the Sudan seem distant from the confines of this room. I know the
political realities of any large-scale U.S. involvement in Africa, but
shouldn't we at least take minimal steps to alleviate massive
suffering? Addressing conflict diamonds is one such step. Our
affluence should not be someone else's nightmare.
I want to again thank you, Mr. Chairman, and the committee for holding
this hearing, and I look forward to helping in any way I can to keep
the process moving to bring an end to this urgent problem.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)