The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay for work on peace and international law.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to Navanethem Pillay, known as Navi Pillay, for efforts to promote peace and international law. The committee's press release said she had helped ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
Pillay, born into an Indian Tamil family in apartheid-era Durban, became a lawyer who defended anti-apartheid figures including Nelson Mandela, the committee said. She later served as a judge on South Africa's High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The committee said she chaired the UN inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and is now a judge on the International Court of Justice in the Myanmar genocide case.
Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes told reporters the system of international law is under pressure and that the prize was meant to underline legal frameworks over power politics, Bloomberg reported. The Washington Post quoted the committee describing Pillay as instrumental in prosecuting the gravest international crimes.
The award is the committee's decision, not a court ruling. It does not change any pending case. The literature prize went on Thursday to Canadian poet Anne Carson; Friday's announcement is the peace prize only.
The Oslo ceremony is scheduled for December. No acceptance remarks from Pillay were included in the committee release used here.
People Sentiments Positive
- The Nobel committee said Pillay had shown exceptional courage and integrity.
- Frydnes said international law is under tremendous pressure.