Representatives from 37 countries and aid organizations have agreed to a new international certification system to halt the trade of so-called "blood diamonds."

Blood or conflict diamonds are those mined and sold by African warlords to support their armies. According to one estimate, blood diamonds have led to the deaths of 500,000 people.

Abbey Chikane
Abbey Chikane

The international certification system aims to track the stones. Once the blood diamonds are spotted, countries could ban their import.

The Kimberley Process is designed to establish minimum acceptable international standards for certifying rough diamonds.

Kimberley Process Chair Abbey Chikane said it will be up to national governments to implement the regulatory framework and monitoring system.

Civil wars have been fueled by the sale of diamonds for weapons
Civil wars have been fueled by the sale of diamonds for weapons

Chikane said it is more difficult to monitor alluvial diamonds that come from streams such as in Sierra Leone. But he added he hoped the regulatory framework would monitor the diamonds no matter where they are mined.

Interventions by UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone and Liberia have curbed violence by blocking diamond sales.

The Ottawa-based group Partnership Africa-Canada is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to stop the trade of conflict diamonds.

The group's Executive Director Ian Smillie said he fears voluntary participation in the Kimberley process won't go far enough.

"There really has to be independent, regular monitoring of all governments," said Smillie. "We're not just talking about Sierra Leone, Congo, and that sort of thing. We're talking about Belgium, Canada, the U.S., and everyone."

Smillie said until independent monitors are placed in countries that deal in conflict diamonds, decades-old civil wars in Africa will continue.

Chikane said a technical team of experts including lawyers and geologists will assess the monitoring mechanism for the politically-binding agreement.