By Rajwa Quasim
Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist of Indian Tamil descent, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law. She previously served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The award recognizes Pillay’s decades-long work defending human rights and ensuring accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Nobel Committee said her career demonstrated the importance of upholding legal principles at a time when international institutions face growing political pressure.
“At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity,” the committee’s statement said.
The prize is worth 11 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million. It will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
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Pillay’s background
Pillay was born in Durban, South Africa, into a family of Indian Tamil descent. She built her career during the apartheid era, when racial discrimination shaped the country’s political and judicial systems. In 1967, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal and later became the first nonwhite woman appointed to South Africa’s High Court.
She defended anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela, before going on to serve in international courts.
The Nobel Committee said, “A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.”
Career in international courts
Pillay served as a judge and later president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. One of her major contributions was helping establish that rape and sexual violence could constitute crimes against humanity and, under certain circumstances, acts of genocide.
She also served as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. From 2021 to 2025, she chaired the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and accused Israeli leaders, including the president, prime minister and former defense minister, of inciting genocide.
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In a presentation to the U.N. General Assembly, Pillay said, “We concluded that the State of Israel is responsible for the commission of four genocidal acts in Gaza with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such.”
Reacting to the Nobel announcement, Pillay referred to her recent work on Gaza. She said, “The last thing I did is the delivery of the report on Gaza, naming what’s happening there as genocide. One of the main reactions to that report is paying tribute to me for my courage. And you can imagine how surprised I was. Why would you need courage to speak the truth?”
Pillay is also an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in proceedings concerning Myanmar’s alleged genocide against the Rohingya.
The award comes as President Donald Trump has criticized the ICC over its actions involving Israeli leaders. Israel has rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza. The U.N. commission’s report estimated that more than 20,000 children had been killed in the territory.
Pillay joked after receiving the award, “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” referring to the U.S. president’s publicly expressed desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave her medal to Trump.