South African jurist Navi Pillay wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian committee honored the former UN human rights chief. Israel said the prize legitimizes "anti-Israel hatred."
South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, 85, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award in Oslo on Friday, the 125th edition of the prize, according to Al Jazeera.
According to the committee, the prize honors her work for peace and international law. Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes warned that the system of international law is "under tremendous pressure." He also said Pillay was instrumental in the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, according to UN News.
Her career spans the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court and, as an ad hoc judge, the International Court of Justice. From 2008 to 2014 she served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The committee highlighted her work at the Rwanda tribunal, which set a precedent: sexual violence can be a crime against humanity and also genocide.
Before her international career she opened her own law practice in South Africa, the first by a non-white woman in the country according to UN News, and defended anti-apartheid activists. Apartheid was South Africa's former regime of racial segregation.
Israel's reaction
Pillay led the UN commission that investigated the Occupied Palestinian Territory and that in 2025 described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. Israel said the prize legitimizes "anti-Israel hatred," according to France 24.
The committee replied that the report belongs to the UN commission and that deciding whether genocide took place is a matter for international courts.
Volker Türk, the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that calling the prize deserved is an understatement. There were 287 nominees this year. The award ceremony will be held in Oslo on Dec. 10.
