Africa: Summit on Human Rights, Technology Effectively Canceled

The Zambian government’s decision to postpone RightsCon 2026, effectively canceling the summit, raises concerns about the authorities’ commitment to free expression and assembly and about possible Chinese government interference, Human Rights Watch said today. The 14th edition of RightsCon was scheduled to be held in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, from May 5 to 8, 2026.

In an April 29 statement, the Zambian government said that the postponement was “necessitated by the need for…