The secretary general of the Organization of American States, the continental body of Latin American and Northern American states, expressed his commitment on Tuesday for the OAS to adopt the widely accepted definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

“Effectively fighting antisemitism here and around the world means fighting for democracy, for human rights, for stronger institutions and a culture of respect,” said OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro at the annual American Jewish Committee Global Forum in Washington, D.C. “Respect and acceptance. The international community has a responsibility to counter antisemitism and xenophobia.”

“There is absolutely no excuse for inaction or denial,” he continued. “The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, after its plenary in 2016, adopted a definition of antisemitism which, as of now, [as] secretary general [will] make it the official definition of antisemitism for the work of the Organization of American States.”

After Almagro’s remarks, AJC CEO David Harris, with the secretary general standing beside him, said “history has just been made here. In the words of Luis Almagro, as secretary general of the Organization of American States, has for the first time in Latin America, expressed a commitment to adopt the working definition of antisemitism.”