Gambiaj.com – (OSLO, NORWAY) – South African jurist and human rights advocate Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on Friday, praising the 85-year-old jurist for her work to ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are subject to accountability.
Pillay has played a prominent role in some of the most significant international justice processes of recent decades. She chaired the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The commission has investigated alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the conflict.
Her work on Gaza has made her a particularly prominent figure in the international debate over accountability. A UN commission she chaired later concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding that Israel has rejected.
A career forged under apartheid
Pillay’s commitment to international justice began during South Africa’s apartheid era.
Born in Durban into a family of Indian Tamil origin, she became a lawyer and represented anti-apartheid activists. In 1967, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in South Africa’s Natal province. Her work included challenging torture and defending prisoners, including detainees held on Robben Island.
After Nelson Mandela became president, Pillay was appointed to South Africa’s High Court, becoming the first woman of colour to serve on the court.
She subsequently joined the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she served as a judge and later president. The tribunal prosecuted those responsible for crimes committed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Pillay later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2008 and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. UN records describe her international judicial career as spanning some of the world’s most important cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The Nobel Committee defends international law
Announcing the prize in Oslo, Nobel Committee chairman Jorgen Watne Frydnes said Pillay had demonstrated exceptional courage and integrity at a time when international justice was facing mounting pressure.
The committee said international law had become an essential component of peace and security as the world confronts a high number of wars and conflicts.
Pillay responded to the announcement with humor. After learning she had won the prize amid applause, she joked: “If you applaud a little louder, I might share the prize with Trump,” according to a reaction recorded by Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard in Nuremberg.
The award makes Pillay the fifth South African to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, following Albert Luthuli in 1960, Desmond Tutu in 1984, and Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk, who jointly received the prize in 1993.
She is also the fourth African woman to receive the award, after Kenya’s Wangari Maathai in 2004 and Liberian activists Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011.
Pillay currently serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice in a case concerning allegations of genocide against Myanmar.
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