United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII)

Committee Profile

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is a Specialized Body that explores topics surrounding global indigenous issues and how colonization has affected countries and native populations around the world. It is a committee focused on righting the wrongs of the past and making progress towards change in the future - this is reinforced by the specialized format of the committee where delegates are forced to think on their feet, create solutions on the spot and collaborate with others in the committee to create a consensus that moves indigenous rights forward in all different parts of the world. The topics cover indigenous rights in an everyday context and how the ripples of colonization can still be felt on a day-to-day basis. Delegates will be able to look at problems that affect people immediately and create solutions to issues that are immediately affecting people living in indigenous communities. This committee will specifically address issues of autonomy and the balance of it in education between indigenous people and the government as well as the long history of conversations surrounding reparations in terms of indigenous lands. Overall, this committee strives to address the issues of colonization that global indigenous populations face with the voices of indigenous people at the forefront of the committee’s minds.

Chair Letter

Hello and welcome delegates!

My name is Paige Kim and I will be acting as your Chair for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for BruinMUN 2024! I am currently a second-year at UCLA majoring in English where I hope to pursue a career as a full-time freelance writer one day. In my spare time I enjoy playing my various instruments, reading a comic book, playing Mortal Kombat and watching whichever latest TV show I have chosen to binge.

My journey with MUN began when I joined my high school’s MUN program my freshman year; I joined initially because of my love for arguing. However, this love has blossomed over the years into a passion for international issues and the community that I was able to find within the program. Traveling, seeking new opportunities, engaging in conversation and meeting new people are, in my opinion, what MUN is truly about. The program aided me greatly in gaining a global perspective and allowed me to see subjects in my everyday life to international conflicts through a different lens. The summer before my first year of college as well as the summer after my first year of college I participated in the UCLA MUN Summer Institute as both Chair of the Security Council and as the Lead Peer Learning Facilitator. I joined MUN at UCLA at the beginning of my first year in college and have continued to staff conferences, travel, meet new people and connect with the same community that I have always valued finding in MUN.

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is a committee that is tasked with maintaining, preserving and uplifting indigenous communities globally. Decisions in this committee must always be made not only with indigenous people in mind, but with indigenous people actively joining the conversation and acting as a guiding figure for all solutions presented by this forum. Ultimately, your goal as delegates is to work for the global indigenous population and make decisions with them at the forefront of your mind. Since this is a Specialized Committee, delegates must be able to not only come prepared with solutions to the problems presented in the background guide, but solutions to problems that will be presented throughout the committee in the form of updates. You must be vigilant, active, on your feet and ready to respond to whatever challenge this committee faces. Working together and collaborating for the purpose of improving the lives of indigenous populations will be of the utmost importance ensuring this committee’s success.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know!

Good luck, 

Paige Kim | Chair, PFII | BruinMUN 32

pfii@bruinmun.org