Essay requirements

Formulate your answer, to the question presented in the topic you chose, in the form of a thesis. Advance your thesis in the introductory paragraph, explaining by what means you are going to demonstrate your case. In the following paragraphs, lay out the reasons to support of your answer. After displaying your argument, bring up an objection to one or more of the reasons you presented. That objection should also come in a form of a well-reasoned argument. That is to say, tell the reader (me) what is the main point of the objection and then present reasons for anyone to consider that objection seriously. Finally, rebuttal: reply to the objection, explaining why the reader should accept your reasoning despite the objection. Maximum number of words: 1200.
Any quote, paraphrase or summary of external source (including the textbook and instructor’s notes) requires citation in text (name of the author, year of publication and, in case of a book or an article, page number), and a complete citation at the end of the essay. You can use APA, MLA, or Chicago style, so long as you use only one particular style. Reminder: using external sources without reference constitute plagiarism. Do not use Wikipedia as a source in your writing.

Individual Essay Topic I
“During the late 1990s, South African diamond producer De Beers and other companies in the diamond industry discovered that some of the diamonds they were buying and selling came from groups who used the proceeds to finance brutal civil wars. In Sierra Leone, rebels took control of diamond mines by systematically chopping off the arms and hands of as many as 20,000 children, women, and men until the diamond operations were turned over to them. Similar events took place in some other African countries. About 4 million civilians have died in the civil wars financed by the diamonds. Anxious to avoid a consumer boycott of “conflict diamonds”, De Beers and other diamond companies in 2000 formed the World Diamond Council, a group of buyers and sellers of diamonds that pledged to use the “Kimberley Process” to track diamonds from the mine to the jewelry shop to ensure that diamonds they sold were “conflict-free”. However, in 2004, Global Witness, a watchdog group, published a report of a survey it conducted which concluded that “83 percent of diamond companies surveyed are falling short on implementing the basic measures” of the 2000 agreement to keep conflict diamonds from getting mixed in with non-conflict diamonds.” (Velasquez, p. 86)

Is it morally wrong for the retailers to buy diamonds if they cannot determine whether these diamonds are conflict free?