International human rights conference in Zambia canceled ‘due to pressure from China’

A conference on human rights in the digital age, which was due to take place from May 5 in the Zambian capital Lusaka, has been canceled at the last minute by the authorities. The organization confirmed reports from local media on Friday that this happened under pressure from China due to the presence of speakers from Taiwan.

RightsCon is a major international meeting where topics such as digital surveillance, internet freedom, AI and online privacy have been discussed annually since 2011. Previous editions took place in Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Tunisia and also in Taiwan. The conference would start in Lusaka next Tuesday. About five thousand participants were expected, some of whom were already on their way to the African country. “We received reports that upon arrival in Zambia, participants were told by immigration authorities that the conference had been canceled,” the NGO Access Now, which organizes RightsCon, wrote in a statement.

The local news site News Diggers! reported on Thursday that the sudden cancellation of the conference would be due to the participation of speakers from Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China considers a renegade province that must sooner or later be reunited with the mother country. Zambian authorities were concerned because the program “featured Taiwanese delegates who could speak out against China, in a building donated by China,” the site wrote.

The conference would largely take place in a new wing of the Mulungushi International Conference Center, for which the Chinese government donated $60 million. A then Zambian minister said in 2020 an interview that there was no catch. “The only condition is that a Chinese company wants to build it, because it is their money.”

At least four program components the conference involves Taiwanese organizations such as Doublethink Labwhich works to combat online disinformation, and an organization that stands up for sexual minorities. The Taiwan chapter of Amnesty International was to hold a roundtable discussion on “China’s digital authoritarian practices.” Also an American NGO that is committed to freedom in Hong Kong was on the programme.

Largest trading partner

The sudden cancellation is all the more remarkable because the authorities canceled the conference last week welcomed as an opportunity to demonstrate Zambia’s commitment to “a secure, inclusive and rights-based digital future.” But last Wednesday, Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati relented a statement suddenly knowing that “more time was needed to ensure that everything is in accordance with national procedures and diplomatic protocols.” “In particular, some guests and participants are awaiting security checks, which have not yet been completed.”

A day later, the Ministry of Information and Media clarified that more information was needed on “the themes to be discussed during the conference” to ensure that it “align with Zambia’s national valuespolicy priorities and the general interest”.

According to Access Now, Chinese pressure is the reason for the sudden cancellation. “We believe that foreign interference is the reason that RightsCon will not take place in Zambia or online this year,” the organization writes in the statement published on Friday evening. declaration. An employee of the Zambian Ministry of Technology and Science reportedly said by telephone that diplomats from the People’s Republic of China were putting pressure on the government because participants from Taiwan were planning to attend the conference, RightsCon writes. The conference could only go ahead if certain topics were left undiscussed and the participation of Taiwanese guests online or on site was canceled. Access Now calls these conditions “unacceptable and contrary to everything we stand for.”

Emails with questions from NRC to both Zambian ministries involved remained unanswered. The Chinese embassy in Lusaka also did not respond to a request for comment.

China and Zambia concluded another important development cooperation agreement on April 24, a few days before the cancellation. The Chinese ambassador in Lusaka spoke on that occasion of a “important expression of the friendship between the two countries“.

Zambia and China indeed enjoy close relations. The People’s Republic is the African country’s largest trading partner and Zambia is a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which invests in infrastructure worldwide. For example, China built several airports and a hydroelectric power station. A major toxic spill occurred at a copper mine operated by a Chinese company last year serious environmental pollution.

Zambia supports China’s position that Taiwan is “inalienably part of China” and that Beijing is its legitimate government.

UNESCO conference on press freedom

At the same time as RightsCon, a conference of the UN organization UNESCO would also take place in Lusaka on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, next Sunday. It was organized in collaboration with AccessNow and would be held in the same conference center. That meeting is going now in a much slimmed down form: the presentation of a press freedom award will take place at a later date in Paris and most parts of the program will now be held online.

According to a UNESCO spokesperson, the conference cannot take place because many intended participants are not traveling to Zambia due to the cancellation of RightsCon, and because both conferences would share many costs. The organization cannot bear these costs alone.

If the presence of Taiwanese speakers was indeed the reason for the cancellation, it would be the second recent example of African governments caving to Chinese pressure. Earlier this month, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te had to… cancel planned visit to Eswatinione of the few countries to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Three neighboring countries had closed their airspace to Lai’s plane.

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