Africa-Press – Zambia. UN Special Rapporteur Report Out to be Presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday 18th June 2025
President Hichilema is abusing human rights, implementing selective justice and effecting targeted prosecutions against his Opponents and Critics
…recommends institutional and legal reforms to improve human rights practices…
The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, visited Zambia from 20 to 31 January 2025.
In the present report, she acknowledges progress, including the adoption of the Access to Information Act and the repeal of the offence of defamation of the President.
She notes on-going challenges regarding freedom of expression and the need for legal and policy reforms.
In her key recommendations, she calls for the implementation of the Access to Information Act, the decriminalization of defamation and the revision of some speech-related offences in the Penal Code and other restrictive laws to bring them into line with international standards.
She also calls for strengthening the media and State institutions. She notes the rise
of disinformation and the need to address it with multipronged strategies grounded in human rights.
The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to continue its efforts to expand
Internet connectivity to support freedom of expression and access to information.
She calls upon the Government to accelerate reforms, foster a culture of transparency and engage with civil society to strengthen the protection of human rights.
● Implement Access to Information law.
● Decriminalise defamation laws.
● Revise restrictive laws on speech-related offences under the penal code.
● Abandon disinformation as increasing toxi polarising speech, misleading the public and sowing seeds of discord.
●accelerate reforms to foster culture of transparency.
● strengthen human rights.
● Parliament authorities denied members of the Opposition to meet her despite government assurances that she would meet all stakeholders.
Key Findings;
● Suppression of dissent and critical voices. Growing trend to attack dissenting voices.
● Criminal Justice Weaponised to silence legitimate.
● Harassment by the Police of political and civil society activists and journalists, bloggers and Opposition figures.
● Abuse of legal system to target arrests and prosecution of political and critics.
● Contniued abuse of the Public Order Act.
● Cyber Crimes ad Cyber Security laws to undermine freedom of expression, journalism and public-reporting
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