The world’s largest conference on human rights and technology, RightsCon 2026, was cancelled days before it was due to begin after Zambia’s government said the event did not align with “national values”.
The New York–based organiser, Access Now, had spent months planning with Zambian authorities for the 5–8 May summit in Lusaka. Thabo Kawana, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information & Media, said the cancellation would allow time to ensure the gathering “aligns with Zambia’s national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations”.
More than 2,600 activists, technologists, academics and policymakers were expected to attend. The programme was to cover online hate, internet shutdowns, AI, surveillance, the militarisation of tech and disinformation, at a time when democratic, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights are under pressure.
Rights campaigners called the decision censorship and part of a wider pattern of suppressing debate. Zambian reports suggested possible pressure from China, noting that several Taiwanese delegates were due to attend and that the venue had been donated by China; RightsCon was held in Taipei last year.
Linda Kasonde, a prominent Zambian lawyer who founded the LCK Freedom Foundation, said the move signalled a disregard for human rights. She said the current administration’s early promises of rule of law and democracy were eroding, with freedoms of expression and assembly being curtailed. Kasonde linked the cancellation to the upcoming general election in August 2026, saying the government had been passing laws that make it easier to entrench power and denying political parties and civil society opportunities to meet publicly. She added that the late cancellation “really dents the image of our country” and was especially unfortunate because the government had been involved in planning for more than a year.
Access Now said the unilateral decision and its timing were evidence of transnational repression targeting civil society and shrinking operating spaces at a time the sector faces financial and political strain. Most delegates had already booked and paid for travel.
Karna Kone, from Côte d’Ivoire, who had organised a visa to attend a panel on digital censorship, described the cancellation as a financial and logistical loss. He said RightsCon was one of the few global spaces for organisations addressing sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) to connect and share work, and that silencing the event removed a vital platform for Francophone Africa.
Chioma Agwuegbo, director of TechHer in Nigeria, said the summit was a rare chance to develop solutions to pressing challenges. “These constraints silence voices and weaken ecosystems working to protect fundamental human rights, including the safety and dignity of women and girls online,” she said.
A number of speakers had been scheduled to address online censorship of SRHR. Martha Dimitratou, director of Repro Uncensored, called it “deeply ironic” that a conference aimed at strengthening rights and participation in digital spaces was being shut down. Luca Stevenson of the International Planned Parenthood Federation described RightsCon as a critical space for communities pushed to the margins, including sex workers, LGBTQIA+ people and those seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare.
Sibongile Ndashe, a South African lawyer who founded the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa, warned the cancellation set a dangerous precedent. If cancelling conferences became normalised, she said, human rights groups would increasingly find it difficult to convene, and restrictions would disproportionately harm those without power.
