South Africa’s Navi Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for championing peace
PHOTO: South Africa’s jurist Navi Pillay (Internet Photo)
POLITICS I GLOBAL ISSUES: South African jurist Navanethem Pillay has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting international law and peace.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the prize recognised a "person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order."
"This year's laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted," Frydnes said. Pillay, who was born in the eastern South African city of Durban, served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.
Earlier in her career, she defended anti-apartheid activists and helped secure rights for prisoners on Robben Island. She later served as an acting judge on the South African High Court and as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Pillay joined the International Criminal Court in 2003 and served in its Appeals Chamber until 2008.
In 2025, while chairing the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Pillay accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Pillay on social media, saying "few have devoted their lives to justice, peace and human dignity as she did."
"From the violence of apartheid in South Africa to the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, she has confronted some of humanity’s darkest chapters," von der Leyen wrote. "In a world that needs justice more than ever, her courage and moral clarity are a precious compass."
The Nobel Foundation said in September it would increase the prize money in each category to about 1.07 million euros.
"This year, we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, and in connection with this, we are pleased to be able to increase the prize amount by one million," Nobel Foundation Executive Director Hanna Stjärne said. "By increasing the prize amount, we uphold the long-term significance of the Nobel Prize and ensure that the financial part of the prize retains its value over time."
