Zambia Pushes Back on UN Characterisation of “Political Detainees”

Zambia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has rejected a news release from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association. The release, issued on 2 September 2026, addressed the aftermath of Zambia’s general election. The Ministry says it contains a factual error, prejudicial language and claims that fall outside the Rapporteur’s mandate.

The core dispute concerns treason. The Special Rapporteur’s release described treason under Zambian law as a “capital offence.” The Ministry says this is false. Zambia abolished the death penalty under the Penal Code in December 2022. It removed the penalty from military law through the Defence (Amendment) Act in December 2023. Parliament then approved accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Zambia deposited the instrument of accession with the UN Secretary-General on 19 December 2024. The Protocol entered into force for Zambia on 19 March 2025. No offence in Zambia today carries the death penalty.

The Ministry also disputes the release’s language on individuals facing criminal charges. It rejects the terms “political detainees” and “post-election crackdown,” arguing these present contested claims as fact and prejudge matters before the courts. The statement contrasts the Special Rapporteur’s approach with that of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy. The Envoy was present in Zambia during the events in question. He facilitated the handover of two opposition figures, first to the Church and then to security agencies.

The Ministry cites the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-holders. It argues the release falls short of required standards on objectivity, verification and restraint. It calls on the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to issue a public correction with equal prominence to the original release. The Ministry reaffirms Zambia’s commitment to constitutional democracy, the rule of law and continued engagement with UN human rights mechanisms

The full statement, issued by the Ministry, is reproduced below.

** GOVERNMENT CORRECTS FACTUAL ERRORS AND PREJUDICIAL CHARACTERISATIONS IN NEWS RELEASE BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY AND OF ASSOCIATION**

LUSAKA, 3 September 2026. The Government of the Republic of Zambia has noted the news release issued on 2 September 2026 by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association concerning developments surrounding Zambia’s general election.

In the said press release, the Special Rapporteur is quoted as having stated among other things that:

“Authorities must release all political detainees, respect fundamental freedoms, and restore democratic accountability.”

Zambia values the contribution of the United Nations Special Procedures to the promotion and protection of human rights and remains committed to constructive engagement with all human rights mechanisms. That engagement must, however, rest on accuracy, objectivity, due regard for information supplied by the State, and respect for the specific mandate entrusted to each mandate holder.

The position taken by the Special Rapporteur stands, moreover, in sharp contrast to that of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, who was present in Zambia during the events in question and personally facilitated the handover of the two leaders, first into the care of the Church and subsequently to the security agencies, on the basis of assurances made by the Government of the Republic of Zambia that the fundamental rights of the suspects would be respected at every stage of the due process.

The United Nations Special Envoy engaged directly on the ground and chose constructive facilitation. The Special Rapporteur, from a distance and without such engagement, chose condemnation by news release. The contrast speaks for itself.

The press release contains a fundamental and readily verifiable error of law, presents contested allegations as established fact, adopts language that prejudges matters currently before the courts, and pronounces on questions well beyond the Special Rapporteur’s mandate.

First, the news release is wrong on the law. It describes treason in Zambia as a “capital offence.” It is not. Zambia abolished the death penalty under the Penal Code in December 2022 and removed it from military law through the Defence (Amendment) Act signed in December 2023. Parliament thereafter approved accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. Zambia deposited its instrument of accession with the United Nations Secretary-General on 19 December 2024, without reservation, and the Protocol entered into force for Zambia on 19 March 2025.

No offence in Zambian law today carries the death penalty. No person charged with treason faces execution. This is not a matter of interpretation but of public record, verifiable in the statute book, in the proceedings of the National Assembly, and in the depositary records of the United Nations itself.

That a United Nations mandate holder should overlook one of Zambia’s most significant and internationally commended human rights reforms raises immediate questions about the rigour of the exercise as a whole.

Second the characterisation of events is unsubstantiated and prejudicial. Describing recent developments as a “post-election crackdown,” and persons facing criminal proceedings as “political detainees,” asserts a conclusion rather than reports a fact. Membership of an opposition party does not place a person beyond the reach of the law, nor does it convert a criminal suspect into a political detainee. Zambia has constitutional responsibilities to protect public safety, national security and the democratic order. Where there is reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed, the competent authorities are entitled, indeed obliged, to investigate and to institute proceedings in accordance with the law.

This diminishes nothing owed to the accused. Every affected person is entitled to the presumption of innocence, legal representation, humane treatment, a fair and public hearing before a competent court, and access to judicial remedies for any procedural or other shortcoming. The Government is committed to ensuring these protections are respected in every case, and Zambia’s courts are open to test them.

The assertion that senior opposition figures face “concocted charges of treason” goes further still. It pronounces on the merits of live criminal proceedings. Whether the evidence establishes an offence is for Zambia’s independent courts to determine through due process, not for an international mandate holder to settle by news release. To describe charges as “concocted” before any judicial examination risks prejudicing those proceedings and departs from the objectivity, moderation and discretion expected of the Special Procedures.

Third , the release ranges well beyond its mandate. It makes sweeping assertions concerning alleged electoral flaws, intimidation, assaults, abductions, deaths and Zambia’s democratic and human rights environment as a whole. These are serious matters, and they demand careful, independent and comprehensive verification. Several of them do not fall within a mandate on freedom of peaceful assembly and association unless a clear and substantiated connection to those rights is established. No such nexus is demonstrated.

The Government is further concerned that allegations attributed to unspecified sources have been reproduced as authoritative conclusions, with insufficient acknowledgment that they remain contested, are under investigation, or fall for determination by competent national institutions.

Fourth, the cumulative effect of this language raises serious concerns under the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-holders. “Crackdown,” “political detainees” and “concocted charges” are not neutral descriptions of reported allegations. They are conclusions about the motives of State institutions and about the legitimacy of judicial proceedings.

Under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Human Rights Council, mandate holders are required to establish facts on the basis of objective and reliable information from credible sources; to cross-check that information to the fullest extent possible; to take comprehensive account of information supplied by the State concerned; to assess matters against the standards relevant to their particular mandate; and to exercise restraint, moderation and discretion in their public statements. Measured against each of these standards, the release falls short.

Zambia welcomes scrutiny and claims no immunity from criticism. But scrutiny must itself meet the standards of fairness, accuracy and impartiality that the Human Rights Council has set.

Independence does not dispense with verification. An allegation does not become a fact by being repeated in a United Nations news release.

The Government therefore calls upon the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to correct publicly the erroneous description of treason as a capital offence, promptly and with the same prominence as the original statement. It further calls upon them to distinguish clearly between allegation and verified fact, and to reflect Zambia’s responses and legal reforms accurately in any further public communication.

Zambia remains committed to constitutional democracy, political pluralism, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the rule of law, and constructive cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights System, conducted on those same standards.

ENDS

Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,

Government of the Republic of Zambia.