The UN General Assembly last week unanimously passed an Israel-
authored resolution to strengthen efforts to curb the export and
trade of so-called “blood diamonds,” which are illicitly mined
and traded rough diamonds used to financially fuel dozens of
brutal conflict across Africa. More than 60 other nations co-
sponsored the resolution with Israel. It demands that member
nations more actively and accurately report on the origins of
diamonds being exported and traded. It also calls for harsher
Security Council measures against those engaging in blood
diamond trafficking. Blood diamonds are used by governments and
rebel groups in a number of African nations to purchase weapons
on the black market. Those weapons are used to arm militias that
are often made up of children, who are then trained to brutally
suppress their enemies. As a world leader in the diamond
industry, Israel has for years been heading the Kimberley
Process, a regulatory group tasked with preventing the illicit
diamond trade.