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LAUNCHED ON 24 OCTOBER 2026 · UNITED NATIONS DAY
THREE QUESTIONS. THREE CALLS FOR PROPOSALS. THREE DAYS OF PANELS.
AT A GLANCE
CONVENORS
The Andalus Committee and the Grupo Joven of the Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI)
Multilateralism in Practice is a joint initiative of the Andalus Committee and the Grupo Joven of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI). It brings together researchers, officials and practitioners to develop concrete proposals on three challenges facing multilateral cooperation: commitment, funding and the integration of non-state actors, and regional-global deference.
Through three Practice Cycles, these proposals are tested, refined and carried to the institutions they concern. We aim to present the campaign’s three reports at the Partners for Multilateralism Summit during the 2028 General Assembly.
FOUNDING TEXT
A Plea for Multilateralism, by Ambassador Ricardo E. Lagorio
OUTPUT
Three reports, each an argued and quantified list of proposals
FINAL MILESTONE
Partners for Multilateralism Summit, United Nations General Assembly, September 2028
WHY NOW
MULTILATERAL COOPERATION IS RETREATING
and the retreat is not paid for equally.
3.4 bn
people live in countries that spend more on servicing debt than on health or on education.
UN Trade and Development, A World of Debt, 2025
2.5%
of world GDP went to military expenditure in 2025, its highest share since 2009.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2026
The retreat is measurable
Core funding for multilateral organizations declined by 27%, a second consecutive annual fall, while world military expenditure reached 2.5% of global output in 2025, its highest share since 2009. Institutions are being asked to do more with resources they cannot always rely on.
Those with the fewest alternatives pay first
3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on servicing debt than on health or education. Developing countries paid $384 billion in interest on external debt in 2024 alone.
The diagnosis is not the problem
The proposals exist, scattered across disciplines and organizations, but they are not assembled. What is missing is not knowledge, but a way to translate it into proposals institutions can actually implement.
Multilateralism does not weaken in one place
Multilateral cooperation extends far beyond a single organization, across regional bodies, development banks, trade, health, food security, climate, scientific cooperation and technical agencies. It weakens differently across these arenas, and the remedies must therefore differ too.
Sources: OECD Development Assistance Committee (2025 preliminary data), SIPRI (2026) and UN Trade and Development.
THE CAMPAIGN AT A GLANCE
FROM UNITED NATIONS DAY TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
October 2026 to September 2028
24 OCTOBER 2026
Launch
United Nations Day. The plea is published and the Cycle I call for proposals opens.
3 APRIL 2027
Paris
Practice Cycle I: the commitment problem.
AUTUMN 2027
New York
Practice Cycle II: funding and the integration of non-state actors.
SPRING 2028
Buenos Aires
Practice Cycle III: deference between regional and global institutions.
SEPTEMBER 2028
General Assembly
We aim to present the three reports at the Partners for Multilateralism Summit.
THE PRACTICE CYCLES
THREE QUESTIONS
Each cycle asks one main question, divides into three sub-themes, runs one day of panels, and produces one report. The sub-themes are the panel titles, the working group streams, and the sections of the report.
II
CYCLE II · NEW YORK · AUTUMN 2027
Funding and the integration of non-state actors
How can institutions be given resources they can count on, and how can actors who are not states enter decisions that concern them?
II.A
Predictable resources
II.B
Exposure and alternatives
II.C
Who else is at the table
Call for proposals to follow.
III
CYCLE III · BUENOS AIRES · SPRING 2028
Deference between regional and global institutions
On what terms should regional and global institutions defer to one another?
III.A
Recognition
III.B
Capacity and finance
III.C
Interface
Call for proposals to follow.
THE FOUNDING TEXT
A PLEA FOR MULTILATERALISM
“It is necessary to generate and foster a true culture of multilateralism.
Civil society, academia, non-governmental organizations and the media should be part of a renewed constituency of multilateralism.
That constituency will not appear on its own. It has to be built. And building it is work that can begin now.”
H.E. Ricardo E. Lagorio
Former Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations
SUBMISSIONS
24 October 2026 to 24 February 2027
SELECTION
Early March 2027
CALL FOR PROPOSALS · CYCLE I
THE COMMITMENT PROBLEM
How can undertakings on which others depend be held through uncertain times?
Researchers in every discipline, officials, practitioners and students are invited to submit a concrete, argued measure. Proposals are read anonymously, and selected authors are credited as collaborators on the report.
PANEL DAY
Paris, 3 April 2027
REPORT
April to May 2027
THREE SUB-THEMES
I.A
Debt and the reliability of financial commitments
I.B
Exit and continuity
I.C
Making commitments verifiable
HOW IT WORKS
FROM A CALL FOR PROPOSALS TO A REPORT
Each cycle asks one question, divides it into three sub-themes, runs one day of panels and produces one report, carried to the institutions it concerns.
1
2
3
4
5
6
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Question, sub-themes, structure and criteria published together.
ANONYMOUS READING
Author and institution removed until selection.
WORKING GROUP
Selected proposals reconciled into a first draft.
SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
Reviews the draft for accuracy and rigour, without rewriting it.
PRACTICE CYCLE
REPORT
One day of panels tests the draft against practice.
Published with authors credited, carried to the organizations concerned.
THREE RULES FOR EVERY SESSION
The room does not compose, it amends · Attendance commits nothing · Nothing is final on the day
TAKE PART
JOIN THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
To sign is to support the search for solutions, not to endorse them in advance.
QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED
ON TAKING PART
Can students and young researchers submit?
Yes. The call is open to any individual or institution. Proposals are read anonymously and assessed on the published criteria only.
Do I need to travel?
No. The working group meets by correspondence and short online sessions, and remote participants take part on equal terms. Travel is not funded.
Does signing commit me or my institution?
No. To sign is to support the search for solutions, not to endorse them in advance. Each signatory remains free to countersign the reports or not.
ON SUBMITTING
Can I submit work already published?
Yes, if you hold the right to have it republished alongside the report. Say so in the Record.
In which language should I write?
English, French or Spanish. No translation is required and none is preferred.
Can one proposal cover several sub-themes?
No. Each proposal addresses one sub-theme only.
Any other question?
Write to info@andaluscommittee.com.