Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the media, and to you my colleagues in civil society.

I am Mishka Puran, attorney-at-law. I am the Secretary on SASOD’s Board of Directors and I also serve as the Guyana focal point and steering committee member of CariBono: Caribbean Lawyering for Social Justice. CariBono was launched by the Faculty of Law University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) in December 2016. CariBono is also being supported by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) to host regional meetings of our membership.

CariBono is a network of human rights lawyers and advocates dedicated to facilitating access to justice and legal services for members of vulnerable communities, including persons who use drugs, marginalized youth, orphans and children, women and girls who face violence, prisoners and persons at risk of incarceration, persons living with HIV, sex workers, migrant populations and LGBTI persons.

The CariBono network works through the individual contributions of members and collective initiatives that include the provision of legal services, strategic advocacy, policy and legal reform, and public and legal education. In recognition of the need for systemic change, CariBono is committed to raising awareness of human rights throughout the Caribbean and to this end, seeks to promote an engaged and informed regional community beyond national borders. CariBono operates from a principled commitment to inclusion, non-discrimination and fairness for all individuals seeking legal redress or who are before the legal system.

Currently, we have 5 practicing attorneys in Guyana who are members of CariBono providing pro-bono services to SASOD’s Community Paralegal Services Initiative. If any Guyanese lawyer is interested in joining CariBono, they can contact me via email at mishkapuran.attorney.at.law@gmail.com.