Human Rights Watch on Friday questioned the Zambian government’s latest decision to postpone RightsCon 2026, a global summit intended to foster collaboration between civil society activists and industry on the impact of digital technologies on human rights.
Technology deputy director at Human Rights Watch, Deborah Brown stated: “By shutting down RightsCon, the Zambian government is shutting down discussions and opportunities to strategize and connect on some of the most crucial human rights issues of our time… It’s a terrible blow to the digital rights movement in Zambia and globally.”
Initially scheduled to take place from the May 5 to 8 in the capital city of Zambia, Lusaka, the forum’s cancellation sparked debate about possible interference by the Chinese government, which reportedly pressured local authorities to bar Taiwanese participants and suppress discussions critical of Beijing’s digital authoritarianism. External pressure attempting to derail the smooth operation of RightsCon has been described by critics as part of a broader pattern of “authoritarian-leaning governments” utilizing their diplomatic leverage to export censorship and restrict discussions beyond their own borders.
This recent development has not been an isolated incident. In 2023 more than 300 individuals from the Global South who had applied for visas were denied entry and excluded from the event entirely, and in 2024 the Saudi Arabia-hosted forum dissuaded participation due to rising concerns of surveillance and harassment. The cancellation of the 2026 summit in Zambia illustrates several key issues about the impact that state interference has on human rights platforms.
For example, the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, which was the venue where the event was supposed to be held, was built with approximately 30 million dollars in Chinese government funding, and this provided a physical point of leverage in steering the conversation to favor the Chinese government. Additionally, the pressure exerted by Chinese authorities onto Access Now, which is the organizer of this year’s RightsCon, resulted in the cancellation of the summit after organizers refused to compromise and bar Taiwanese participants nor avoid discussions on Chinese digital influence.
Furthermore, Zambian academic Sishuwa Sishuwa argued that the government’s primary motivation in preventing the summit from going ahead as planned was to avoid potential international security of its own deteriorating human rights record and increasing suppression of dissent ahead of the upcoming 2026 general elections.
