Uncontacted hunter-gatherers facing threat of genocide because of minerals mining, claims report

Of the approximately 3,500 Hongana Manyawa people, about 500 remain uncontacted, Survival International has said. Photograph: Nanang Sujana/AFP/Getty Images

Uncontacted hunter-gatherers in Indonesia “are facing a severe and immediate threat of genocide” because of mining for minerals on their lands for use in electric vehicles, a report claims.

In their own language, the Indigenous Hongana Manyawa people, of Halmahera island, call themselves “the people of the forest”. But their forest home is being destroyed in a rush for nickel, a crucial component in rechargeable batteries, campaigners say.