0 a diamond (= a transparent precious stone) that has been mined (= taken out of the ground) in an area where there is war or fighting, and that is sold to get money to continue the fighting:
The campaign to clean up gold mines echoes the opposition to "blood diamonds", sold to finance conflicts in developing nations.
A multinational conference this week may agree to a protocol that would stem the trade in "conflict diamonds"—gems used to finance rebel insurgencies in various parts of Africa.
Industry delegates discussed moves to eliminate the trade in gems from areas of conflict (so-called blood diamonds) at the World Diamond Council annual meeting in Antwerp.
Trade in blood diamonds has flourished worldwide because the tiny gems are portable, easily concealed and guaranteed sources of cash.
Conflict diamonds gained international attention for the role they played funding bloody insurgency in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s.
Industry officials estimate that conflict diamonds account for about 4 percent of the world's $6 billion-a-year diamond trade.
