Conflict mineral laws include laws passed in the European Union and United States since 2010, which require companies to report the use of four specific conflict minerals.

The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a history of conflict, where various armies, rebel groups, and outside actors have profited from mining while contributing to violence and exploitation during wars in the region. The four main end products of mining in the eastern DRC are tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, which are extracted and passed through a variety of intermediaries before being sold to international markets. These four products, (known as the 3TGs) are essential in the manufacture of a variety of devices, including consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Some have identified the conflict as significantly motivated by control over resources. In response, several countries and organizations, including the United States, European Union, and OECD have designated 3TG minerals connected to conflict in the DRC as conflict minerals and legally require companies to report trade or use of conflict minerals as a way to reduce incentives for armed groups to extract and fight over the minerals.

In the United States, the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act required manufacturers to audit their supply chains and report use of conflict minerals. In 2015, a US federal appeals court struck down some aspects of the reporting requirements as a violation of corporations' freedom of speech, but left others in place.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its guidance on conflict minerals supply chain traceability in 2011. Parties involved in the development of the OECD guidance included 11 countries from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), industry representatives, civil society organisations, and a United Nations group of DRC experts. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1952 in 2010 called for all member states to legislate on supply chain due diligence and supply chain risks.

The FairPhone Foundation raises awareness of conflict minerals in the mobile industry and is a company which tries to produce a smart phone with 'fair' conditions along the supply chain. Various industry and trade associations are also monitoring developments in conflict minerals laws and traceability frameworks. Some of these represent electronics, retailers, jewelry, mining, electronics components, and general manufacturing sectors. One organization – ITRI (a UK-based international non-profit organization representing the tin industry and sponsored/supported by its members, principally miners and smelters.) had spearheaded efforts for the development and implementation of a "bag and tag" scheme at the mine as a key element of credible traceability. The program and related efforts were initially not likely to extend beyond the pilot phase due to a variety of implementation and funding problems that occurred. In the end, however, the device did enter the market.

In late March 2011, the UK government launched an information section on its then Foreign & Commonwealth Office website dedicated to conflict minerals. This information resource is intended to assist British companies in understanding the issues and, specifically, the US requirements.

The history of extraction in the Congo began in 1885 following the Berlin West Africa Conference, as King Leopold II of Belgium forcibly dispossessed Congolese kings of their land through invalid treaties and established rubber plantations through the use of military violence. The country was characterized by extraordinarily violent treatment of natives, including mass killings, sex crimes, and torture for not meeting quotas because exploitation of resources was the first priority to secure profits for the Belgian colonial empire. In 1908 control was transferred from Leopold II to the Belgian colonial administration, although exploitation of resources remained key to economic growth. Racism, political subjugation, and forced labor remained prevalent and helped enforce a power dynamic to ensure continued economic production.