Navi Pillay, Former UN Rights Chief, Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the South African jurist who rose from defending anti-apartheid activists to serve on international criminal courts and as the United Nations’ top human rights official.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored Pillay, 85, “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.” Its chair, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, said in Oslo that the system of international law is under tremendous pressure and its institutions are under attack, and that the choice was a message to those undermining them. The committee credited her with helping ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.

Pillay’s career spans six decades. In 1967 she became the first woman to open a law practice in what was then Natal province, and she represented Nelson Mandela and other opponents of apartheid before becoming the first woman of color on South Africa’s High Court. She later sat on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where the committee highlighted her role in establishing that rape and sexual violence can constitute crimes against humanity and genocide, and served as a judge of the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2008 before becoming UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She now sits on the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against Myanmar over its treatment of the Rohingya.

She learned the news in the courtroom in Nuremberg, Germany, where Nazi leaders were tried after World War II, and said perhaps it was meant to be. She dedicated the prize to survivors of international crimes and joked to the crowd that if they clapped louder she might share it with President Donald Trump, who has long said he deserves the award.

The choice drew sharp criticism from Israel. Pillay chaired a UN commission of inquiry that concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel rejected. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the award a grotesque weaponization of the prize, and a statement on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s account said, according to CBS News, that the committee had lost its moral compass. Supporters of Israel argue that the inquiry was one-sided and that honoring its chair politicizes the prize.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the prize a tribute to everyone working to uphold international law, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa praised her courage and integrity.

The award landed amid a fight between Washington and the International Criminal Court. Hours after the announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced further sanctions on the court, calling it a threat to American sovereignty and vowing to cut off its resources. The United States has never joined the court, which has not prosecuted any American.

The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on December 10. The committee considered 287 nominees this year.