South African human rights lawyer Navi Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday, October 9. Pillay, 85, is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights who also served as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Pillay’s contribution to strengthening international law and its role in addressing conflict and violence. The committee said her work had demonstrated how legal measures can help prevent war and protect victims of abuses. “A person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order,” Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said during the announcement. ALSO READ: Guterres: UN Security Council remains 'unjust' without permanent African seat Frydnes said the committee had not yet managed to reach Pillay. “If you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up. I would love to talk to you very soon.” Born in Durban, South Africa, to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay grew up under apartheid, a system of racial segregation and discrimination that denied the country’s Black majority and other non-white communities equal rights. More recently, Pillay chaired a United Nations-backed Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The Nobel award comes amid wider concerns about the pressure facing international legal institutions and the enforcement of international law. She currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in proceedings concerning allegations of genocide against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. The Nobel Peace Prize is decided by a five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by Norway’s parliament. The selection process typically runs for about eight months. The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, approximately $1.2 million, and is scheduled to be presented in Oslo on December 10.
