Editing Zambia (section)

===Human rights===
{{See also|Human rights in Zambia|LGBT rights in Zambia}}
The government is sensitive to any opposition and criticism and has been quick to prosecute critics using the legal pretext that they had incited [[public disorder]]. [[Libel law]]s are used to suppress free speech and the press.<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204181 "Zambia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225030706/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204181 |date=25 February 2021 }}, ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013.</ref>

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both males and females in Zambia.<ref>{{cite web|title=State Sponsored Homophobia 2016: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition|url=http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf|website=[[International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association]]|date=17 May 2016|access-date=29 July 2017|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902183618/http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Avery |title=71 Countries Where Homosexuality is Illegal |url=https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |work=Newsweek |date=4 April 2019 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211204842/https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2010 survey revealed that only 2% of Zambians find homosexuality to be morally acceptable.<ref>{{cite journal |title=What Is Religion in Africa? Relational Dynamics in an Entangled World |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/15700666-12340184 |last1=Meyer |first1=Birgit |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |volume=50 |issue=1–2 |pages=156–181 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In December 2019, it was reported that United States Ambassador to Zambia [[Daniel Lewis Foote]] was "horrified" by Zambia's jailing of same-sex couple Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba. After an appeal failed and the couple was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Foote asked the Zambian government to review both the case and the country's anti-homosexuality laws. Foote faced a backlash and cancelled public appearances after he was threatened on social media, and was subsequently recalled after Lungu declared him ''[[persona non grata]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50901537|title=US recalls ambassador to Zambia after gay rights row|website=BBC News|date=24 December 2019|access-date=12 January 2020|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231195603/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50901537|url-status=live}}</ref>