{"id":40909,"date":"2026-05-07T13:49:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=40909"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:49:04","slug":"rightscon-2026-cancellation-is-a-blow-to-civil-society-free-expression-and-the-right-to-assembly-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/advocacy-en\/2026\/05\/07\/40909-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"RightsCon 2026 cancellation is a blow to civil society, free expression and the right to assembly everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members and partners of IFEX and the Global Forum for Media Development stress that cancelling RightsCon and thereby seriously disrupting UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day conference weakens an already strained ecosystem and contributes to fragmentation, isolation, and, ultimately, a chilling effect on collective action.<\/p>\n

We, undersigned members and partners of the Global Forum for Media Development and IFEX, strongly condemn the Zambian government\u2019s decision to force the last-minute cancellation of RightsCon 2026\u00a0due to the foreign interference of China over the participation of Taiwanese delegates<\/a>. The world\u2019s leading summit on human rights in the digital age was due to take place from 5 \u2013 8 May in Lusaka.<\/p>\n

Shutting down an international civil society forum through its invocation of prior restraint on content of the programme and citing the need for alignment with \u201cnational values, policy priorities, and broader public-interest considerations\u201d represents a serious and unacceptable violation of universal human rights standards including freedom of assembly, press freedom, independent journalism, and open civic space which are protected by Articles 19 and 21 of the\u00a0International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That pressure from China influenced Zambia\u2019s decision further demonstrates the scale and severity of threats facing the civic space environment from foreign interference. No government should have the power to compromise such convenings.<\/p>\n

Although this is an extremely serious attack on human rights, it is not isolated. These developments take place in an already challenging context of shrinking liberties and funding for journalism, digital rights, and free expression communities worldwide.<\/p>\n

Effectively cancelling RightsCon and thereby seriously disrupting UNESCO\u2019s World Press Freedom Day conference on 4 May weakens an already strained ecosystem and contributes to fragmentation, isolation, and, ultimately, a chilling effect on collective action.<\/p>\n

Multistakeholderism must be protected in practice, not just proclaimed in principle\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Members of international platforms such as the Media Freedom Coalition and Freedom Online Coalition must continue to use their convening power to ensure the participation of civil society in global forums and take concrete action against restrictions on civic space and freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

For future regional and international fora, the demands of journalism, digital rights, and free expression communities for the physical, digital, and legal conditions for safe and open convening must be met by the UN, other inter-governmental organisations and States.<\/p>\n

Restoring the legacy of the Windhoek Declaration<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Zambia\u2019s decision is symbolically significant because of its proximity to Namibia, where in 1991 the signing of the Windhoek Declaration led directly to the UN declaring 3 May as World Press Freedom Day two years later.<\/p>\n

Promoting independent, pluralistic, and free media, it urges governments to protect journalists and avoid media control.\u00a0Its renewal in 2021<\/a>\u00a0reaffirmed a regional and international commitment to media freedom, independence, and safety.<\/p>\n

That legacy underscores what is threatened today. These challenges remind us of the need for media to remain agile and innovative, and to uphold functional independence from any one specific actor.<\/p>\n

Safeguarding the future of World Press Freedom Day and of the broader ecosystems it engenders requires renewed collective commitment to solidarity, accountability, and the protection of civic space.<\/p>\n

We stand with our colleagues in Zambia and across Southern Africa\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

We express our solidarity with the almost 3,000 journalists, digital rights defenders, press freedom and media support and civil society actors in Zambia, across Africa, and globally who have been directly affected by the last-minute cancellation of RightsCon 2026 and the subsequent drastic downscaling of UNESCO\u2019s World Press Freedom Day conference in Lusaka on 4 May.<\/p>\n

We also express our strong support and solidarity with AccessNow, the organisers of RightsCon, as well as all their partners who had planned side events to further their vital work.<\/p>\n

Above all, we stand with our colleagues in Zambia and across Southern Africa who continue to work indefatigably under increasingly constrained conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
* Having previously announced that Zambia\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>Ministry of Technology and Science would be the primary Government partner for RightsCon 2026<\/i><\/a>, the Zambian government announced the \u201cpostponement\u201d of RightsCon on Wednesday, 29th April, just days before the conference was due to begin on 5th May.\u00a0<\/i> <\/p>\n

Later the same day, the organisers of RightsCon AccessNow confirmed that RightsCon would not proceed in Zambia or online.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

On Thursday, 30th April, UNESCO\u00a0 announced that the programme of the World Press Freedom Day in-person conference, entitled \u201cShaping a Future of Peace\u201d, which has been scheduled to take place at the same venue as RightsCon, would take place \u201cprimarily online with an event also organised in Lusaka on 4 May\u201d.\u00a0<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

About this statement<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The statement was drafted by the members and communities of the Global Forum for Media Development and IFEX.<\/p>\n