South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, the fearless judge who headed the Rwanda genocide tribunal and presided over a UN commission that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the 85-year-old as "one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time", praising a career spent holding war criminals, despots and national leaders to account.
Pillay, currently a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide, has been "instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted", committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes told reporters in Oslo.
"Absolute necessity"
The jury said the prize was being awarded at a moment when "the system of international law is under tremendous pressure and its institutions are under attack".
"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," Watne Frydnes said.
"Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career," the committee added.
From apartheid Durban to The Hague
Born in 1941 in Durban to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay grew up under apartheid and became one of South Africa's first women of Indian descent to practice law. She defended anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela, and fought to end discriminatory prison conditions.
She went on to serve as a judge on the International Criminal Court and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, building a reputation as one of the most formidable legal minds in international justice.
Last year, Pillay headed the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry that found genocide was occurring in Gaza, telling AFP at the time that her team had shared "thousands of pieces of information" with prosecutors at the International Criminal Court.
A jab at Trump
The prize, the ultimate diplomatic and humanitarian accolade, is sure to irk US President Donald Trump, whose administration has repeatedly attacked international justice institutions.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has made no secret of his desire to win the prize himself.
Pillay could not resist a jab. Speaking to a standing ovation at the Nuremberg Court, captured by Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard and posted on X, Pillay quipped: "If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump."
We are at the Nuremberg Court. I cannot think of a stronger symbol for her Nobel prize.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary General
Last year's prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who subsequently gave her Nobel gold medal to Trump at a White House meeting.
$1.2 million and a gold medal
The prize comes with a gold medal, a diploma and a prize sum of $1.2 million. The award will be presented at a formal ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the prizes' creator, Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.
The Peace Prize is the only Nobel awarded in Oslo, with the other disciplines announced in Stockholm.
On Thursday, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Canadian poet Anne Carson for her modern twists on Greek mythology and antiquity that have inspired new forms of writing. The 2026 Nobel season winds up Monday with the economics prize.
