Greg Valerio muses on Gold and Diamonds at International Jewellery London 2012

Communities in central Africa bear the real brunt of any violence that may emerge. These communities should be the real beneficiaries of the mineral wealth in their land. Instead due to their poverty they are exploited by big companies, who promise much by way of up front CSR promises and local employment, yet in case after case do not deliver. If they are not being exploited by corporate mining companies then they are subject to militia, violence and the resource curse. The real reputational risk we face as jewellers from conflict material is not being addressed by OECD as those that are vulnerable to exploitation are only going to be unduly penalised by OECD, which will lead to more smuggling and illegal activity than before. People need to eat, regardless of what the UN says. As a Congolese miner friend of mine once said in regards to the Dodd Frank legislation, ‘We can die by the bullet or die by the starvation’.
http://blog.gregvalerio.com/2012/09/22/greg-valerio-muses-on-gold-and-diamonds-at-international-jewellery-london-2012/