A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 persists. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 29% of women aged between 20 and 24 were married below the age of 18, teenage pregnancy being a main cause; and the rates are higher in rural areas.58 81. Beliefs of any kind do not appear to be a strong factor in early marriages,59 however Caritas60 and a Protestant pastor61 have called for action to end early marriages. In 2023, UNICEF reported the prevalence of female genital mutilation as being relatively low, and that there were therefore no national data on the prevalence of female genital mutilation.62 82. Although the Children’s Code (Act No. 12 of 2022) and the National Child Policy include references to the best interests principle, this principle is not taken into consideration under customary law and by religious leaders in many areas of children’s rights, particularly in rural areas in cases of inheritance, education and land allocation. 83. Despite the many barriers to accessing safe abortions, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation reports that Zambia has among the most liberal abortion policies in sub-Saharan Africa63 and a 2021 directive allows the performance of safe abortions by nurses. However, the Termination of Pregnancy Act stipulates highly restrictive conditions, including the requirement for the approval of three doctors and that the abortion may only be carried out in a hospital, which may render safe termination of pregnancy inaccessible for rural women. Furthermore, the Penal Code does not explicitly allow for termination of pregnancy resulting from rape, defilement or incest for all women. 84. The concerns shared by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression and opinion, in relation to the increasingly restrictive environment for discussions relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, were also reported to this mandate. The Ministry of Health has reportedly instructed that the term “sexual and reproductive health and rights” be removed from official policy documents. 64 Such limitations hinder efforts to improve public policies in those areas and advance gender equality and universal access to healthcare. I. Overbroad hate speech law 85. In Zambia, as elsewhere, hate speech on the Internet is on the rise. Hate speech laws, while essential for maintaining social harmony, appear to have been applied in a manner that undermines freedom of expression, a fundamental right that is enshrined in article 20 of the Constitution. In March 2021, the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act was adopted (Act No. 2 of 2021), which officially has the aim of protecting Zambian citizens from online abuse. 86. The provisions of the 2021 Act have been strongly criticized for being vague, restrictive and disproportionate,65 and the broad definition of “hate speech” in the Act risks restricting expressions that merely convey rejection or strong criticism of certain societal groups. It opens the door for politicized regulation of online campaigns and free speech. The Special Rapporteur notes that in April 2025, the 2021 Act was replaced by the Cyber Security 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 GE.26-02761 See https://www.unicef.org/zambia/media/7426/file/GPECM%20Zambia%202024%20Annual%20Report %20-%20Country%20Profile.pdf.pdf. See https://www.unicef.org/zambia/media/621/file/Zambia-child-marriage-research.pdf and https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/learning-resources/child-marriage-atlas/regions-andcountries/zambia/. See https://web.archive.org/web/20250321171050/https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/carita s-zambia-youth-day-commemoration-statement-2025.pdf. See https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-are-we-quiet-about-child-marriages-in-zambia/. See https://www.unicef.org/media/137621/file/Tech-based-Interventions-Adress-Harmful-Practices2023-Zambia-v2.pdf. See https://fot.humanists.international/countries/africa-eastern-africa/zambia/. Amy Fallon, “Zambia deletes ‘sexual’ from SRHR in blow to LGBTQ+ and rights groups”, Devex, 26 October 2023. See, inter alia, CCPR/C/ZMB/CO/4, paras. 31 and 32. 15