Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)

Committee Profile

The great expanse of space has garnered its fair share of attention in recent years, but our interests in the stars have spanned decades, often rooted in a mix of genuine fascination and an attempt to display one’s socio-political prowess. The cosmos are not often thought of as an inherently political environment, but even beyond the Space Race many years ago, tensions have only increased with the rise of the private sector and the general quarrels surrounding the right to “colonize” space. Concerns grow as the rivalries do, leading us into a whole new realm of regulation and exploitation, leaving many to wonder what the future of space could and should look like. While we scramble to keep up with recent developments, we mustn’t turn our sights away from what lies ahead and the vast potential of what lies above. Though each country has its own goals and aspirations, that doesn’t mean diplomacy isn’t crucial as we venture to redefine space in this new age of exploration. The final frontier is no longer as distant as we once thought it to be.

Chair Letter

Hello Delegates!

Welcome to BruinMUN 2023! I’m honored to serve as your Chair and am so excited to welcome you all to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, I can’t wait to see you take this committee to infinity and beyond. I’m currently a third year here at UCLA majoring in Human Biology and Society, which I hope to foray into a future in either the medical field or in public health policy.

While it’s not incredibly alien by any means, I was born and raised in Hawaiʻi, so I’m still fairly familiar with learning about being in a new environment and struggling a bit to gain my bearings. Additionally, while the pandemic has hindered me from travel, my summers, for as long as I can remember, have been spent in Shanghai visiting friends and relatives (though I’m no stranger to experiences in other cities around China), so I’m quite familiar with varied socio-political views and how they affect international relations. I’ve also grown up speaking both Mandarin and Shanghainese, which really allows me to connect with people and places on an even deeper level. That all being said, I find that Model UN has always been a pretty safe constant wherever I’ve been, both in high school, where I participated for all four years, and here in college, where I’ve had the opportunity to staff both BruinMUN and LAMUN. Model UN is inherently a setting in which you learn to interact with new people and try to find common ground, whether it be through diplomacy or getting to know people beyond their allocations.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with you all, being able to interact with delegates and see where the debate takes all of you is one of my favorite things, and given the nature of the committee topics, I’m especially thrilled to see you all navigate diplomacy in a new and exciting frontier. Space isn’t often initially thought of when discussing socio-political issues, but upon further thought, you’ll find that discussions of diplomacy reach far beyond our borders and far beyond our own planet. While space has slowly (but surely!) begun to make its way back into political spaces, it’s no stranger to being the topic of debate, fascinating and inspiring generations upon generations, only evolving in relevance and technological capability. With multiple eyes on the skies, it’s no surprise that space would again become the hotly debated topic it once was, and it’s also no surprise that interstate conflict was bound to arise as a result. While the great vacuum of space may not be the most conventional, it holds a lot of potential and allows delegates to get a better grasp on diplomacy in a new environment outside of what they’re familiar with.

Above all else, I hope you all have an amazing time with these topics and create lasting memories through this committee, finding ways to connect over the vastness of space and all it encompasses. Perhaps being so far above Earth will allow for some added perspective, or maybe just some added fun.

I wish you all the best of luck,

Alexa Lauryn | Chair | BruinMUN 31

copuos@bruinmun.org