In conjunction with the release of "Blood Diamond," Director Ed Zwick and Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly -- who is Amnesty International USA's Ambassador for Human Rights Education -- recently shot Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the organizations to help further awareness.

"Blood diamonds are not just a problem of the past," said Bonnie Abaunza, Director of Amnesty International USA's Artists for Amnesty program. "More than $23 million in blood diamonds are currently being smuggled into U.S. and international markets from West Africa. Entertainment and industry leaders have important roles to play as advocates who can influence the United States to demand better checks on the diamond industry."

To ensure the diamond industry is living up to the necessary standards, Amnesty International and Global Witness are updating their 2004 survey of the top diamonds retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom. That survey pointed to the industry's failure to adequately implement a system of self regulation. The new survey will include the top 75 diamond retailers and suppliers in the United States to ensure that the industry has addressed the gaps uncovered in the organizations' 2004 survey. Global Witness and Amnesty International are calling on the industry to establish vigorous codes of conduct and put in place an independent verification system, both with actionable timetables.

The results of the survey will be posted on www.blooddiamondaction.org next February. Until then, consumers can view the movie trailer and PSAs on the site, and download letters that they can send to the U.S. government and the World Diamond Council. To further educate and engage young people about blood diamonds -- as well as child soldiers, another main theme in the movie -- Amnesty International USA's Human Rights Education program has developed a curriculum guide to be used in conjunction with the PSAs in high schools and universities across the country.

Global Witness investigates the links between the exploitation of natural resources and the funding of conflict and corruption. It is non-partisan in all its countries of operation. Global Witness was co-nominated for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for its leading work on conflict diamonds and awarded the Gleitsman Foundation prize for international activism in May 2005.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 1.8 million members worldwide. Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.