US gives Caribbean region good review for religious freedom

Jamaica’s Rastafarians complain of barriers

WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — So accustomed to annual scathing reports on human rights practices and drug trafficking, Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries have received what can be considered overall favourable and rare review of their religious practices by the United States.

In its International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, released here earlier this month, the US Department of State said "there were no reports of significant societal actions affecting religious freedom" in most Caricom-member states.

Washington, however, said that some religious groups, such as Rastafarians and Muslims, continued, in some territories, to "express concern about government practices impacting their religious activities."

In Jamaica, the report said that while the constitution provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom to worship and to change religion, and that it prohibits discrimination based on belief, "Rastafarians expressed concerns about the government's prohibition of their use of marijuana for

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