Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has joined the NetRights Coalition, a network of digital rights actors, and over 190 organisations and individuals from around the world to condemn the April 29, 2026, announcement by the Government of Zambia unilaterally postponing the 2026 edition of the global digital rights conference, RightsCon, which was to be held in Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time.
In a statement issued on April 30, 2026, they condemned the Zambian government’s actions that led to the cancellation of RightsCon in Zambia, saying it raises concerns about closing civic space and fostering a culture of self-censorship ahead of the August 2026 elections, adding that it is a major setback for Zambia’s digital rights trajectory regionally and globally. The statement pointed out that the cancellation signalled a departure from the gains it had secured in leading global processes.
The postponement resulted in the cancellation of the global event, which was to have attracted over 5000 participants from around the world, most of whom had incurred huge financial and logistical losses as plans were at an advanced stage for the event to start.
Netrights noted that the need for international consensus-building remains critical, pointing out that the government of Zambia missed an opportunity to demonstrate a strong commitment to preserving the multistakeholder model, a key feature of global digital governance, across its country’s digital rights engagements. Meanwhile, the government of Zambia cited the need for comprehensive disclosures to align with “national values, policy priorities, and broader public-interest considerations” as reasons for the postponement, but did not disclose them to the public to ease understanding of such a drastic action.
Prior to the announcement to postpone Rightscon, the Zambian Ministry of Technology and Science had, on March 3, 2026, officially announced that it was the primary government partner for RightsCon 2026, an event that was meant to be held in Lusaka, Zambia and online from May 5 to 8, 2026. This statement assured the global community that the event would proceed with the host government’s appropriate support.
Netrights noted that the last-minute backtracking on this commitment raises questions about trust and commitment to civil society engagement and international agreements, to which Zambia has, in the past, demonstrated a strong pledge. This action, after travel itineraries had been set, accommodations booked, and venue costs incurred, it said, constitutes a setback to global human and digital rights processes and derails the participation of diverse stakeholders, including civil society, government, investors, and the private sector engaged in these conversations.
They noted that holding RightsCon in Lusaka would have been an incredible opportunity for local and global exchange, and to create new initiatives to realise human rights in the digital age.
Signatories to the statement noted that a clear channel of resolving any outstanding issues with the event convenor to save the multistakeholder approach aligned with international human rights standards to which Zambia subscribes as a State party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, would have been a fair course of action for the Zambian Government to take.
