RU X IPPF: RightsCon Cancelled as Global Attacks on SRHR and Digital Freedoms Intensify -Press Release
The Zambian government has abruptly cancelled RightsCon 2026, the world’s largest conference on human rights in the digital age, just five days before it was set to begin in Lusaka.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Repro Uncensored x International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
30 April 2026 - At a time of growing global rollback on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, access to information, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), the Zambian government has abruptly cancelled RightsCon 2026, the world’s largest conference on human rights in the digital age, just five days before it was set to begin in Lusaka.
This cancellation comes amid escalating restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health information online, increasing censorship of SRHR content, and the criminalization of individuals seeking or providing care in many parts of the world.
More than 5,000 participants from around the world were expected to attend the summit, organized by Access Now. Attendees, including speakers and partners, were informed this morning following public statements by Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Science reported in local media.
The government cited vague concerns related to “security clearances” and the need for “further consultations,” without providing a clear or substantiated justification.
The cancellation has disrupted extensive international coordination. Researchers, activists, and civil society leaders had already confirmed travel and accommodation, and a full program of five days of round-the-clock workshops, dialogues, and regional sessions had been released.
“This last-minute cancellation is a serious setback for global digital rights and democracies,” said Martha Dimitratou, Executive Director of Repro Uncensored. “Shutting down RightsCon 2026 without clear justification raises real concerns about who gets to participate in shaping the future of our digital public spaces. At a time when our rights are increasingly under threat around the world, it is deeply ironic that a conference dedicated to strengthening rights, accountability, and democratic participation in digital spaces is being shut down in this way. RightsCon is one of the few spaces where researchers, activists, and communities can come together to address urgent issues like censorship, surveillance, and access to reproductive health information.”
“Spaces like RightsCon 2026 are critical for communities who are already pushed to the margins, including sex workers, LGBTQIA+ people, and those seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare,” said Luca Stevenson of International Planned Parenthood Federation. “The cancellation disproportionately impacts those most affected by censorship, criminalisation, and digital exclusion. At a time when sex workers’ voices are already suppressed online, losing one of the few global spaces to connect, organise, and advocate is deeply concerning.”
“Sexual and reproductive rights are under attack around the world”, said Dr Zahra Stardust, Australian Research Council Fellow working at the QUT Digital Media Research Centre. “Global tech companies are perpetrating, aiding and abetting mass scale sexual and reproductive rights violation and war crimes, by providing internet infrastructure and AI surveillance technologies to target civilian life, especially infants, children, pregnant people, maternity wards and embryo storage facilities. People’s intimate data (around menstruation, HIV status, trans experience and sex work history) is being shared and sold to third parties, including in context where abortion, same sex activity, HIV and sex work are criminalised. Social media platforms systematically suppress sex education, harm reduction and health promotion content and spread disinformation about trans health, abortion and sex. RightsCon was set to provide an essential platform for stakeholders to come together and strategise over how to hold governments and big tech accountable for their extensive and severe sexual and reproductive rights violations.”
The conference included a significant focus on SRHR online, an area facing escalating challenges globally. Planned sessions involved partnerships with International Planned Parenthood Federation, ILGA World, Pan Africa ILGA, European Sex Workers Alliance, UNESCO, and the Centre for Intimacy Justice, alongside academic collaborators including Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
The cancellation is particularly concerning in the Zambian context, where same-sex activity remains criminalized under sections 155, 156, and 158 of the penal code, and where access to SRHR information and services is already constrained. RightsCon has historically provided a rare and vital space for dialogue across sectors, including for communities facing legal, social, and digital marginalization.
Participants were scheduled to address urgent global issues including the censorship and suppression of SRHR content online, surveillance of individuals seeking abortion and reproductive healthcare, the use of digital evidence in criminalization, disinformation on reproductive health, as well as broader concerns around AI, digital colonialism, and governance frameworks shaping access to information.
Repro Uncensored and the QUT Digital Media Research Centre remain committed to ensuring that these critical conversations continue despite the disruption.
For more information or to speak to one of our spokespeople, contact:
Martha Dimitratou, martha@reprouncensored.org
Nerida Williams, newilliams@ippf.org
Zahra Stardust, zahra.stardust@qut.edu.au
About Repro Uncensored
Repro Uncensored is a global nonprofit documenting digital suppression and supporting organizations affected by discriminatory moderation systems. Through multilingual incident tracking, its global censorship map, research, and cultural advocacy, Repro Uncensored works with sexual and reproductive health organizations, queer collectives, and cultural communities to ensure their content remains accessible. The organization also supports account reinstatements and leads work on emerging forms of technology-enabled harm, including AI-driven abuse.
About International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
The International Planned Parenthood Federation is a global healthcare provider and advocacy organization working in over 140 countries to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. It delivers essential services, including contraception and safe abortion care, and advocates for access to accurate information and bodily autonomy worldwide.
About QUT Digital Media Research Centre
The QUT Digital Media Research Centre is a globally recognized leader in digital media and communication research, examining the societal, legal, and policy impacts of emerging technologies. Its work focuses on digital governance, platform power, AI and automation, digital inclusion, and the transformation of media and public communication, supported by advanced computational research methods and international collaborations.