http://dx.doi.org/10.59704/93beff7f75650055 https://verfassungsblog.de/universities-international-law/ When Universities Govern - Why the UN Columbia Letter Reframes Campus Power Southey, Safia eng 2025-12-22 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Columbia Columbia University | New York NY Governance International Law UN Human Rights Council UN Special Procedures Universities Völkerrecht Columbia University | New York NY Völkerrecht Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 When UN Special Rapporteurs send an allegation letter to a university, international law is doing something unusual. On 14 October 2025, five mandate-holders addressed such a letter to Columbia University, raising concerns about protest policing, disciplinary sanctions, surveillance, and the treatment of non-citizen students and scholars in connection with Gaza-related expression and assembly. The letter does not resolve disputed facts. Its importance lies elsewhere: it reflects a shift in how international human rights law responds to the privatisation of coercive governance.