The international diamond campaign, Fatal Transactions, welcomes the support of former South African President Nelson Mandela for initiatives to bring the diamond industry to a progressive stance on human right issues.

Mandela stated: "...Rather than boycotts being instituted, it is preferable that through our own initiatives the industry takes a progressive stance on human rights issues..." (quote November 17, 1999 in Johannesburg, Reuters).

One area of Mr. Mandela's statement needs some clarification. The Fatal Transactions campaign is not calling for a consumer boycott of diamonds, but simply for positive consumer choice. As such it believes that the public has the legitimate right to demand conflict free diamonds.

The campaign recognises the enormous potential of diamonds for several African economies, but until today a horrible amount of money and lives have been wasted in diamond-fueled wars such as in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Angola, the revenues of these diamonds could help to rebuilt the country after nearly 25 years of civil-war and destruction. Today, the real threat for the southern-Africa economy, is not the demand for conflict free diamonds, but the ongoing wars fueled by diamond smuggling.

There is an urgent need for a system of verification, independent monitored, that garantuees to the consumer their purchased diamonds are 'conflict free'. The diamond industry can make a valuable contribution to the prosperity and stability of Africa by implementing such a system.