RightsCon Organizers Take Stock of What's Next After Zambia

RightsCon organizer Access Now was forced to cancel the annual digital and human rights conference in Lusaka, Zambia, last week after learning of Chinese pressure on the Zambian government to restrict participation by delegates from Taiwan. The cancellation dealt a major blow to Access Now, local Zambian civil society partners, and the global rights defender community, with some attendees already en route when the news broke. The incident signals growing challenges to pro-democracy and human rights work in an increasingly authoritarian global environment.

Just days before it was set to begin last week in Lusaka, RightsCon organizer Access Now was forced to announce https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-statement/ the annual digital and human rights conference would not proceed after it learned of Chinese pressure https://www.techpolicy.press/rightscon-canceled-after-zambia-requires-full-alignment-with-national-values/ on the Zambian government to restrict the participation of delegates from Taiwan. The effective cancellation of the event was a huge blow to Access Now, its local civil society partners in Zambia, and to the global community of rights defenders, some of whom were already traveling when they got the news. To many, it is an ominous signal about the growing challenges to doing pro-democracy and pro-human rights work in an increasingly authoritarian world. To learn more about what transpired and what’s next, Justin Hendrix spoke to the head of Access Now, Alejandro Mayoral Baños , and the director of RightsCon, Nikki Gladstone , about their experience, why this moment matters, and what's next for the community they convene.