Zambia cancels global digital freedoms conference days before start

The advocacy organization behind one of the world’s largest digital human rights conferences announced Wednesday that it has canceled an event scheduled to begin May 5 in Lukasa, Zambia due to the country’s government shutting it down over concerns about its digital freedoms theme.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share: RightsCon will not proceed in Zambia or online,” Access Now, which organizes the event, said in its announcement. “We understand this news is deeply upsetting for our community.”

The announcement came as thousands of delegates were en route to Zambia or already there.

On Tuesday, Zambia’s Minister of Technology and Science offered the first hint that the conference would be cancelled, telling a Zambian news outlet that participants’ security clearances were incomplete and that the government has concerns about the conference’s “dialogue.”

"Additional time is required to ensure that all preparatory processes fully align with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue,” Minister Felix Mutati said.

The government only intends to postpone the event, Mutati said, but in a statement Access Now said it is not possible to hold the event at a different time given the vast amount of planning that already occurred. RightsCon typically attracts more than 5,000 human rights advocates and academics from over 150 countries. 

Many global human rights organizations have been financially hobbled by the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), making travel to Zambia a difficult undertaking.

Zambian officials expanded on its statement on Wednesday, with the Secretary for Information and Media Thabo Kawana saying in a Facebook post that the cancellation was “necessitated by the need for comprehensive disclosure of critical information relating to key thematic issues proposed for discussion.”

On Friday, Access Now, which hosts the annual RightsCon conference, issued a statement saying that a Zambian government contact told organizers Chinese diplomats were pressuring Zambian officials because civil society members from Taiwan would be attending the event.

RightsCon was held in Taiwan in 2025. 

Access Now organizers first visited Zambia to begin planning the conference in 2024 and returned for two additional visits with high-ranking government officials in the run up to the event, the advocacy organization said.

The nonprofit learned the government had decided to table the conference on Tuesday when it was announced by state-owned media. In its statement, the organization said its team was shocked that “despite an established partnership and previously open lines of communication, a decision was made by the government without consultation or formal notice.”

While Recorded Future News could not independently verify the assertions that Chinese pressure was behind the cancelation, there is evidence that the Chinese government financially backs the venue the conference was to be held at.

China provided a $30 million grant for the construction of the Mulungushi International Conference Center, according to a College of William & Mary research lab that tracks China’s foreign investment. 

Zambia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

News of the cancellation was first reported by 404 Media.

The Zambian government has been cracking down on freedom of expression in recent years.

Last year, Zambian lawmakers pushed through legislation that human rights advocates have said limit free speech and open the door to government surveillance.

Freedom House, an organization that ranks countries worldwide based on their human rights records, described Zambia as “partly free” in its latest Freedom of the Net report. The Freedom House index reported that Zambia has jailed critics of the government for online speech.

“This is a serious attack on civil society, the global and local ones,” David Kaye, a former United Nations Special Rapporteur specializing in freedom of expression and opinion, said in a social media post. “Thousands of people — activists, academics, government etc. — are en route to Lusaka. To cancel at this late stage is just horrible.”

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 1 at 2:45 p.m. EST to incorporate a statement from Access Now.