History of Blood Diamonds in Angola
Angola gained independence on November 11,1975 from Portugal. However, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), fought in a civil war lasting 27 years from 1974 to 2001. Somewhere between 1992 and 1998, the UNITA (a rebel group) sold diamonds valued at $3.72 billion dollars illegally in violation of the Bicesse Accords. The money was used to fund UNITA’s war with the government.
When this action was recognized by the government, resolutions were made to try to control the UNITA’s constant actions with blood diamonds including the resolution 1127 of August 28, 1997 the resolution 1173 of June 12, 1998, and resolution 1176 of June 24, 1998. Resolution 1127 was made by the Security Council after the UNITA’s refusal to the Lusaka Protocol (a document trying to end the civil war and disarm the UNITA). Resolution 1127 imposed mandatory travel sanctions on senior UNITA officials and their family members. In 1998, the Security Council made resolution 1173 and 1176 which prohibited the indirect or direct import from Angola to their territory of all diamonds in areas that were not issued by Angola’s government. Even with these Resolutions, the UNITA was able to continue selling diamonds to fund their war.
When this action was recognized by the government, resolutions were made to try to control the UNITA’s constant actions with blood diamonds including the resolution 1127 of August 28, 1997 the resolution 1173 of June 12, 1998, and resolution 1176 of June 24, 1998. Resolution 1127 was made by the Security Council after the UNITA’s refusal to the Lusaka Protocol (a document trying to end the civil war and disarm the UNITA). Resolution 1127 imposed mandatory travel sanctions on senior UNITA officials and their family members. In 1998, the Security Council made resolution 1173 and 1176 which prohibited the indirect or direct import from Angola to their territory of all diamonds in areas that were not issued by Angola’s government. Even with these Resolutions, the UNITA was able to continue selling diamonds to fund their war.
UNITA'S involvement with blood diamondsThe UNITA was a huge part to this social issue because they were the ones who fueled it. The UNITA was a rebel group that fought for total independence against the government. They mined blood diamonds and sold them to fund money to buy weapons and other military efforts to fight in the civil war that lasted about 27 years. Blood diamonds are also known as conflict diamonds for a reason, because they caused conflicts! The illegal mining of the diamonds is what started the war and in result, killed 500,000 people and displaced one million people at the end of 2002.
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The Security Council's involvement with blood diamondsThe Security Council was also a huge contributor to this social issue in a good way. When the illegal actions of the UNITA were recognized by the council, they adopted resolutions to try to fix the problem before it escalated even more. All together, they made three resolutions to try and eliminate the problem of the civil war, the rebel groups, and the illegal mining. However, their efforts did little to nothing to try and control the rebel groups from doing what they wanted even though the Security Council’s intentions were good.
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