PRESIDENT HICHILEMA CANCELS WORLD’S LARGEST DIGITAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR ZAMBIA CANCELLED AT LAST MINUTE
…World’s Largest Digital Human Rights Conference Suddenly ‘Postponed…
..2,000 Delegates Stranded as the 14th RightsCon International Summit cancelled…
The 14th edition of the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age was expected take place on 4th and 5th May 2026 in Lusaka, Zambia, has been postponed without accepted Notice.
This has left over 2000 delegates with some expected to arrive beginning Friday 1st May 2026.
The Conference which was to host Speakers from the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, was going to highlight and expose dictatorial tendencies and authoritarian states using and abusing cyber security laws to shut down freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Zambia, Uganda and China are among the worst offenders in violating freedom of expression, freedom of conscious and freedom the press.
When Government was given the thematic areas of discussions and the list of speakers, President Hakainde Hichilema immediately ordered the cancellation of the respected international conference.
Days before thousands of researchers, academics, and human rights experts were set to convene in Lusaka, Zambia, the government of Zambia announced it was postponing RightsCon, one the largest and most important digital human rights conferences in the world.
The announcement, which came as some participants and speakers were already en route to the conference, has sown confusion and chaos in the academic community.
Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati first announced the postponement on April 28, saying that Zambia needed more time to ensure the conference “fully [aligns] with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue.”
