Amnesty International - in a report ahead of Valentine's Day Thursday, says new regulations are needed to prevent diamonds from funding civil wars in Africa.

The London-based human rights group notes people in many countries give diamonds to their loved ones on Valentine's Day. But it says these people still have no way of knowing where the diamonds come from and whether they have contributed to human rights abuses.

Amnesty International says the sale of diamonds has funded civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have resulted in horrendous human rights abuses. Amnesty says that for many people in these countries, diamonds symbolize war, misery, and poverty - not love.

In March, the U.N. General Assembly in New York and an international meeting in Ottawa, Canada will discuss efforts to set up a diamond certification system to ensure the gems are not funding abuses or conflicts.

Amnesty says there is an imperative need for urgent implementation of transparent and effective controls on the international diamond trade to break the link between diamonds, arms transfers, and human rights abuses.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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