Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a South African jurist and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.”
“Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.”
Frydnes noted that Pillay, 85, is a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
In "historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence," he said, referring to Pillay as "one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time."
When asked during a press briefing if the award sends a message to those who question or sanction international courts, Frydnes told reporters: “This is definitely a message to those who are attacking, undermin[ing] the international system, the international rules-based system and the institutions."
U.S. President Donald Trump last month called for countries to "immediately" resign from the International Criminal Court (ICC), amid a broader push by the U.S. Administration to dismantle it. The Trump Administration's sanctions on the ICC have prompted concern from the international community.
Pillay has served as a judge on many international courts, including the ICC and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Pillay referenced Trump and his well-documented campaign to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when she reacted to her own recognition on Friday morning. In a video shared by Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, Pillay can be seen entering a room at Nuremberg Court to resounding applause from her peers. "If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump," she jokes.
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, famously gave her medal to Trump in January as she pressed the U.S. to support democracy in Venezuela.
While the Norwegian Nobel Institute doesn’t release a shortlist of its contenders each year, the leaders of Israel, Cambodia, and Pakistan have all previously said they nominated Trump. The institute registered a total of 287 candidates for this year’s prize, including 208 individuals and 79 organizations. Trump said earlier this week it would be a “great discredit” to the Norwegian Nobel Committee if they did not announce him as this year's recipient.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
