Conflict diamonds- What's the deal?

I read an interesting CNN article that outlines the basic idea of conflict diamonds- what they are, where they come from, why they exist, and their current status in Africa. Basically, conflict diamonds are those that come from areas controlled by rebel forces as opposed to areas under government control- mostly in central and west Africa. Enslaved communities are forced to perform back-breaking labor to dig for/pick through rock for these diamonds, which are then illegally sold to make the money needed to fund the rebellion.
Photo source: Yahoo Images

Photo source: Yahoo Images



According to the article, conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone made up 4% of the world's diamond population at the height of their civil war.

In an attempt to stop conflict diamond trade, the Kimberley Process was introduced in 2000. This is an agreement between 74 countries, the UN, the EU, the World Democratic Council and several different groups; each one agreeing to take part in a certification process when dealing in diamonds and only trading amongst others who are part of the Kimberley Process agreement. This agreement isn't really working because of lack of cooperation due to economic and political interests.

According to the article, now mineral ore (another plentiful and valuable natural resource in Africa) production is also targeted by rebel forces.

This article caught my attention because I've been interested in the reality if conflict diamonds since seeing them portrayed in movies. What I find most interesting is the fact that we still haven't come up with an effective way to shut down the illegal trade. In class, we learned that Africa is responsible for 50% of global diamond output and 25% of the world's gold. If the rebels are targeting mineral ore now, in addition to diamonds, how long will it be before they move on to the rest of Africa's surplus of natural resources?