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Committee Profile
With political privatization, conflict, and climate change placing continual stress on international water scarcity, SPECPOL at BruinMUN33 will be focused on addressing the militarization of transboundary water resources, hydropolitics, and ensuring global water sovereignty. The first topic will primarily target the navigation of Hydro-hegemony, or the utilization of hard and soft power tactics to privatize and exploit shared water resources as a means of political control. With intentful strategies such as containment, resource capture, and cohesion-pressure, various states have risen to political dominance and left consequential impacts of inequitable water access and fragile conflict mitigation. Secondly, our committee will address the protection of water sovereignty with respect to indigenous rights, rightful resource governance, and global water scarcity created by extractive industries. Due to poor regulation and weak international policies governing the smuggling and exploitation of water resources by large corporations, various Indigenous and local communities have been robbed of their natural resources, rightful ownership, and foundations of their cultural and physical well-being. Overall, this committee will be focused on promoting international efforts and critical dialogue to safeguard water rights amidst rising corporate and geopolitical pressures.
Chair Letter
Dear Delegates,
Hello! My name is Lauren Chen, and I am beyond excited to serve as the Chair of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) for BruinMUN 33! I am a third-year Human Biology and Society major here at UCLA, and I’m very lucky to call Orange County, just a little south of here, my home. At UCLA, I am involved in Pre-medical Undergraduate Shadowing, student advocacy against food insecurity, and additional clubs focused on exploring intersectionality within medicine and society.
This is my seventh ongoing year in Model United Nations (CRAZY!!), which first began in my freshman year of high school within the SoCal circuit. Through my experience in MUN, I learned the importance of self-advocacy and how to assert my voice with confidence, and ultimately gained some of my favorite memories and lifelong friends. During my senior year, I had the greatest privilege of serving as a Senior Teacher in my program, where I had the opportunity to guide my freshmen students through research, speaking, and confidence-building tips. In being a person of guidance for my peer students, I learned the importance and power of empowering others to make their own voices heard, and I am forever grateful for their unwavering support alongside my wonderful advisors. Continuing into MUN here at UCLA, I have served on the dais staff for the last two Bruinmun conferences, and I am super excited to lead my own committee this year alongside all of you delegates!
Outside of MUN, I love cooking, baking, and trying new restaurants/coffee shops (LA is really the place for me!). I also love being outdoors and near the beach, crocheting, going to flea markets, listening to music, and exploring new places with people I love. I am a very creative and open-minded person, so I am looking forward to hearing innovative solutions that highlight ingenuity yet respect for cultural cognizance and unique diversity of thought.
The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) is known as the fourth committee within the UN General Assembly. As a whole, its mission is to tackle international issues related to topics of decolonization and pressing political disputes, with the ultimate goal of establishing cross-national peace. Currently, SPECPOL is most heavily involved in agenda items related to atomic radiation, informatics, peacekeeping, special political missions, relief efforts within mitigating the Israel-Palestine conflict, and international cooperation in outer space. Here at SPECPOL at Bruinmun 33, we will be focused on addressing the militarization of transboundary water sources, along with protecting water sovereignty with respect to indigenous rights and resource governance.
Please reach out if you have any questions at all! I am looking forward to meeting you all, and I wish you all the best of luck on your research and preparation! See you in SPECPOL;))
Best,
Lauren Chen