The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Social Justice Connection and other press freedom and human rights groups in calling on the World Bank to adopt a human rights policy at its annual spring meeting in Washington D.C. In a letter to the president of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, the groups urged the bank to consider human rights and freedom of expression in the drafting of its social protection policy, which is due to be completed this summer.
CPJ has documented the importance of press freedom for development and Social Justice Connection has examined World Bank lending to what the advocacy group has identified as the top 10 countries that censor and harass the media. The letter comes amid growing recognition of the importance that access to information and press freedom play in development. Last year, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals included a target related to public access to information and fundamental freedoms.
A copy of the joint letter to the World Bank’s president can be viewed here.