South African judge wins peace prize

Navi Pillay, eighty-five, has been awarded the two thousand twenty-six Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October ninth.

Decades fighting for justice

Pillay served as a judge on the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, focused on the nineteen ninety-four genocide in which eight hundred thousand people were killed, including four years as its president.

From apartheid activist to judge

Pillay grew up in Durban as a bus driver's daughter during apartheid. She became the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal Province in nineteen sixty-seven and the first non-white woman appointed to…

Gaza commission findings

From two thousand twenty-one to twenty twenty-five, Pillay chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The commission concluded Israel committed genocidal acts in Gaza.

Committee chair explains the award

Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said Pillay's work was instrumental in ensuring war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted. He said international law is now an absolute necessity.

“Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career.”

Israel rejects the award

Israel's Foreign Ministry said the prize represented a grotesque weaponisation of the award to legitimise anti-Israel hatred. The government accused Pillay of relentless, politically motivated demonisation of Israel.

“Her role in the relentless, politically motivated demonisation of Israel and promotion of the genoLIE speaks volumes.”

Trump administration sanctions court

US President Donald Trump reposted a statement calling the Nobel committee's decision a demeaning choice. The US later announced sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court, saying it wanted to restrict its resources.

Pillay's reaction and dedication

Pillay learned of the award in Nuremberg's Palace of Justice and said it must be a joke. She dedicated the prize to all survivors of international crimes and practitioners of international justice.

“If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump.”

Global support for the honour

UN Secretary General António Guterres called Pillay a steadfast, independent voice of justice. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said she had been a pioneering defence attorney for anti-apartheid activists.