On Law Day, Minnesotans pledge support for rule of law in Africa

Fredrikson & Byron Law Firm in Minneapolis recently hosted an event benefiting Books For Africa's Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative.   Since 2008, the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative has shipped law and human rights libraries to 21 African countries.

The initiative is co-chaired by former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan and US vice president Walter Mondale. Among those who sit on its advisory board include Fatou Bensouda who is the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at The Hague and judge Michael Davis, former chief judge of US Federal District of Minnesota.

The event featured remarks from John Bessler, who discussed the book he recently edited –Justice Stephen Breyer’s Against the Death Penalty. Proceeds of the book, which he later signed for participants, will be donated to Books For Africa’s Law and Democracy Initiative.  Bessler said a number of African countries had already eliminated the death penalty and it is time for America to do the same. Bessler is a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and also the husband of United States Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Read a detailed write up from Mshale African Community Newspaper, or learn more about how the Law & Democracy Initiative is working to further the rule of law and promote human rights across the African continent.