South African jurist Navi Pillay awarded 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
South African jurist and human rights advocate Navi Pillay has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her “efforts to promote peace and international law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday.
Pillay, 85, served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights and as a judge at both the International Criminal Court and the UN-backed tribunal established after the Rwandan genocide. She also defended anti-apartheid activists and became the first non-white woman appointed to South Africa’s high court.
The Nobel committee said her work helped ensure the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Pillay dedicated the award to survivors of international crimes and to practitioners of international justice working against impunity.
Her selection drew sharp criticism from Israel, whose Foreign Ministry called the award a “grotesque weaponization” of …