Zambia cancels world’s largest human rights and tech summit days before start

Government blocks RightsCon 2026 conference saying it did not ‘align with national values’

The world’s largest conference on human rights and technology has been cancelled just days before it was due to start after the Zambian government told organisers it did not align with “national values”.

Zambia’s government had originally welcomed the RightsCon 2026 summit on “human rights in the digital age”, due to be held in the capital, Lusaka, on 5-8 May, but Thabo Kawana, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information & Media, said last week that the conference would not go ahead to allow time to ensure the gathering “aligns with Zambia’s national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations”.