SCOOP: Costa Rica plans to apply for IHRA membership

Costa Rica plans to apply for membership in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which created a widely used working definition of antisemitism. This move would make it the third Latin American nation to join the organization. Additionally, Costa Rica intends to appoint an antisemitism envoy within its Foreign Ministry. This development follows a visit to Washington by Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar, where he met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department’s special envoy for monitoring and combatting antisemitism. A Latin American diplomatic source stated it is "unsurprising" given Costa Rica's prior adoption of the IHRA definition and U.S. efforts to combat antisemitism in the region.