The Zambian government’s abrupt move to postpone the international human rights conference RightsCon 2026 only days before it was scheduled to open in Lusaka has triggered sharp criticism from digital rights organizations, human rights advocates and international observers. Organizers subsequently confirmed that the event would not proceed in Zambia or online, turning what the Zambian government announced to be a “postponement” into a de facto cancellation.
RightsCon, organized by Access Now, is one of the world’s leading gatherings on human rights in the digital age. The 2026 edition was scheduled to take place in Lusaka from 5 to 8 May and was expected to bring together more than 5,000 participants. It would have been the first time the global event was hosted in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, it was held in San José, Tunis, Toronto, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro and Manila, among other places. The 2025 edition convened in Taiwan’s Taipei.
The Zambian authorities announced the postponement on 29 April, citing the need for fuller disclosure of thematic issues proposed for discussion and for alignment with Zambia’s “national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations.” Earlier government comments reportedly also referred to pending administrative and security clearances for some speakers. Human Rights Watch said the government’s reasons suggested an effort “to control the summit’s human rights agenda.”
Access Now informed participants that RightsCon would not proceed in Zambia or online and advised registered participants not to travel to Lusaka. The announcement came at a point when travel, hotel bookings and conference logistics were already far advanced, with some participants reportedly on their way or already in the country.
Joint statement condemns Zambia’s cancellation of the conference
The Net Rights Coalition condemned the Zambian government’s action in a statement signed by over 130 digital rights stakeholders and civil society groups, among them Democracy Without Borders. The statement says they were “appalled” by the unilateral postponement, noting that Access Now, partners and thousands of participants had incurred significant financial and logistical losses as preparations were underway for the event to begin within three days.
The statement also underlined the political significance of the suspended agenda. It said RightsCon was set to address key digital economy issues, promote digital rights and embed multistakeholderism, in line with the UN’s Global Digital Compact adopted in 2024. Zambia had contributed to that process as co-chair together with Sweden, following an appointment by the President of the UN General Assembly in October 2023.
“We condemn the government’s actions that led to the cancellation of RightsCon in Zambia,” the statement said. “This raises concerns about closing civic space and fostering a culture of self-censorship ahead of the August 2026 elections, and is a major setback for Zambia’s digital rights trajectory regionally and globally.” Paradigm Initiative’s Executive Director, ‘Gbenga Sesan, who leads the Secretariat of the Net Rights Coalition, stated the episode should be understood not only as the disruption of an event but as an attack on an already shrinking civic space.
Gina Romero, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said she was “deeply concerned” by the government’s move. She criticized the requirement for disclosure of topics to ensure alignment with “national values” as “a clear violation of the rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression” and called the measure a “deliberate attack on civic space.” Given the logistical scale of the event and the proximity to the scheduled dates, she said the postponement amounted to a de facto cancellation and represented a “strategic obstruction” of a vital global digital rights gathering.
Questions over potential Chinese pressure
Questions have been raised about possible foreign interference. Zambia’s investigative news outlet News Diggers! reported, citing „well-placed sources“, that the summit had actually been cancelled because the programme involved Taiwanese delegates who might speak critically of China at „a venue donated by the Chinese government“. Thor Halvorssen, CEO of the Human Rights Foundation, stated that RightsCon had been “shut down because of pressure from China.” He described the cancellation as “a tragedy” and said it showed the lengths to which authoritarian powers would go to suppress free speech.
Human rights researcher Yaqiu Wang wrote that, if local reporting proved accurate, the case would represent “the latest example“ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) „successfully exporting censorship far beyond its borders.” She added that the episode was a „spectacularly bad move by both governments“ as it makes the Zambian government „look like it has no agency, and that its political elites are captured by the CCP“ while drawing „more attention to what an authoritarian menace the CCP is – not only to people inside China, but around the world.“
„The cancellation of RightsCon underscores the need for such events to be hosted in countries where the government openly embraces debate on human rights and supports fundamental freedoms,“ Human Rights Watch concluded, adding that the „human rights environment in Zambia has become increasingly hostile to perceived dissent, criticism, and political opposition to the government ahead of the 2026 elections.“
