Amnesty International has called on Central African Republic (CAR) to seize and sell the diamonds worth millions that have been amassed by traders believed to be fueling the militia violence and child labour in the country.
CAR banned export of diamonds in 2013 under the Kimberly Process to halt trading of “Conflict diamonds”. The rights group in a report released on Wednesday expressed possibilities of huge amounts of diamonds ending up in the global market when the ban on exports is eventually lifted.
The Kimberley process set out conditions in July 2015 that the central African country might meet which will enable partial lifting of the export ban.
Even with the current export ban the report states that thousands of small miners have continued to sell to traders who then sell to export companies based in the country’s capital, Bangui.
The diamond mines have been recorded to violate human rights among which, using children from 11 years old as labourers doing heavy work with little pay according to researchers.
The report said that other that the stockpile of diamonds in the capital, some diamonds have been smuggled to neighbouring countries of Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo to be sold to an international market.
The rights group warned that militias in the ongoing violence are probably profiting off the sale of diamonds due to inadequate checks by diamond firms.
Two major diamond buying houses have been accused in the report for purchasing diamonds without investigating whether the money is funding armed groups. The companies have refuted the claims stating that their diamonds have never been sourced from mines controlled by rebel groups or traders associated with militias.
