According to the UN Human Development Report (2007), Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest places in the world. By the end of the 1980s, the country was nearing a state of collapse, following years of poor governance and economic mismanagement under Siaka Stevens’ APC government. The protracted conflict of the 1990s destroyed much of the country’s basic social and economic infrastructure, resulting in entrenched and widespread poverty. While the causes of the war were complex, there does appear to be some consensus that poor governance, rampant corruption and the creation of a socially excluded underclass were responsible for creating the preconditions for war. Diamonds played a crucial role in fuelling the conflict, as the various parties funded their war efforts through mining activities (Maconachie, 2008).