Urgent appeal to the UN to prevent the potential extinction of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation in Indonesia
A coalition of 17 indigenous, environmental and human rights organizations has submitted an urgent request to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) calling for immediate intervention.
The Hongana ma Nyawa peoples sometimes referred to as the O’Hongana Manyawa peoples, living in voluntary isolation in North Maluku, Indonesia, are experiencing the destruction of their ancestral lands and increased exposure to militarized violence and forced assimilation.
The submission to UN CERD outlines credible and mounting evidence of State-backed violations of the Hongana ma Nyawa indigenous peoples’ rights.
These include the granting of overlapping nickel mining concessions and denial of legal recognition. The submission highlights that 19 mining concessions, including one held by Weda Bay Nickel (which holds the largest nickel mine in the world), overlap with lands inhabited by Hongana ma Nyawa in voluntary isolation.
If these activities continue, the Hongana ma Nyawa people, who have chosen to remain isolated, are at real risk of losing their livelihoods, culture and security.
The joint submission was led by Indonesia indigenous rights group Perkumpulan Pembela Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (PPMAN) and co-signed by national and international organisations including AMAN, JATAM, KontraS, Survival International and Forest Peoples Programme.
It urges the CERD Committee, in line with its early warning and urgent action procedure, to request that the Indonesian government immediately halt all mining activities on Hongana ma Nyawa lands, revoke illegal concessions, and adopt legal measures that safeguard the rights and territories of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation.
Overview
- Resource Type:
- News
- Publication date:
- 20 Mei 2025
- Region:
- Indonesia
- Programmes:
- Supply Chains and Trade Access to Justice
- Partners:
- Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN): Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago Transformasi untuk Keadilan Indonesia (TuK INDONESIA) Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Yayasan Masyarakat Kehutanan Lestari (YMKL) Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP)
