World's Largest Digital Human Rights Conference Suddenly 'Postponed'

RightsCon, one of the world's largest digital human rights conferences, was suddenly postponed by Zambia's government just days before it was scheduled to begin in Lusaka. Officials cited unresolved speaker clearances and "thematic issues," while Access Now said it had not yet received formal communication and was seeking an urgent meeting with the government. 404 Media reports: Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati first announced the postponement on April 28, saying that Zambia needed more time to ensure the conference "fully [aligns] with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue." "In particular, certain invited speakers and participants remain subject to pending administrative and security clearances, which have not yet been concluded," he added, according to the Lusaka Times.

[...] On a popular listserv for academics, many of whom are attending RightsCon, a board member of Access Now wrote "I am told I can leak that RightsCon has been canceled. Message from [Access Now] following shortly" in a thread about what attendees were planning on doing. And in an email, AccessNow wrote: "It is with heavy hearts that we share: RightsCon will not proceed in Zambia or online. We understand this news is deeply upsetting for our community and while we know everyone has questions, our goal right now is to notify you of the event's status because many of you have imminent travel plans. We do not recommend registered participants travel to Lusaka for RightsCon.

Over the last 48 hours we have experienced an overwhelming surge of support from civil society, government representatives, sponsors, and our community as a whole. For this, we wholeheartedly thank you. We'll communicate more information soon."

Zambia, you say ?

[greytree]

"Human rights in Zambia are constitutionally guaranteed, but the government frequently restricts freedoms of expression, assembly, and press in practice. Reports indicate serious abuses by security forces, including unlawful killings and torture, as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions."

Re:

[Valgrus Thunderaxe]

No different than Trumpist USA.

Re:

[ambrandt12]

Or the Biden USA, or any other Butt In Chair.
Funny how that works, isn't it?

Re:

[ambrandt12]

No, he's not, and you ignored the part where I mentioned the other Butts who's been in the Chair before.
Seems like you need the memory care (is there such a thing?) when you can't remember what was at the end of a sentence.

Re:

[sabbede]

Except in every meaningful way.

Re:

[DrMrLordX]

Even if Zambia hadn't canceled the conference, you gotta wonder why anyone would choose to meet there. Wouldn't someplace like Switzerland be a better choice?

Re:

[machineghost]

I thought this was strange too.

The only thing I can imagine is that the organizers thought rights in Zambia were on the rise, and they wanted to encourage the expansion of rights in the country by holding a conference where many locals could learn strategies and tactics ...

... but they goofed and over-estimated the "on the rise" signals.

Government level trolling

[algaeman]

Go on. Take the money and run

Censored by "democracy"

[found404]

The doublespeak: "fully [aligns] with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue." There are so many guardrails, you can't discuss the blatant disregard of digital rights by (fascist) western governments and the mainstream media that supports them. As if further proof is needed, digitalRights has been cancelled for the foreseeable future by democratic powers committing war crimes.

Maybe Zuck

[wakeboarder]

got to them

Re:

[sabbede]

Meta was going to be there. Scroll down a little to "Organizations who join us year after year". https://www.rightscon.org/ [rightscon.org]

Do digital humans need rights?

[jfdavis668]

Are they replacing us already?

Re:

[sabbede]

Rights for GTA NPCs NOW!!

Re:

[Tablizer]

You are free to go off and test the idea for yourself. If and when it succeeds, and you survive, THEN we'll consider implementing it here. Science 101.

Re:

[know-nothing cunt]

I heard about a guy with an island. He had a lot of fun with all of his friends, but he's dead now.

Is it because Zambia isn't real?

[Tablizer]

Is it next to Nambia? [bbc.com]

Why?

[ebcdic]

Why was such a conference being held in a country where it would have to "fully [align] with national procedures, diplomatic protocols, and the broader objective of fostering a balanced and consensus-driven platform for dialogue"?

Re:

[sabbede]

Well, "national procedures, diplomatic protocols" typically means, "visa/customs policy", and will come up anywhere. The last bit almost sounds good unless you notice that it's suspiciously vague.

Zambian non-starter

[Elektroschock]

they already sent a message ha it would be cancelled. I mean seriously, who would do such a conference in Zambia?

Re:

[groobly]

Only followers of Zamboni.