# South African judge Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize

> Navi Pillay, a former U.N. human rights chief, wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on international law. Hours later, the Trump Administration sanctions the International Criminal Court.
- Title: South African judge Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize · TIME
- Summary: Navi Pillay, a former U.N. human rights chief, wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on international law. Hours later, the Trump Administration…
- Keywords: navi pillay, nobel peace prize, international criminal court, international law, south africa, trump administration, human rights, sanctions, news, world, South, African
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/09/navanethem-navi-pillay-wins-the-2026-nobel-peace-prize
- Author: Olivia-Anne Cleary
- Published: 2026-10-09T09:19:34+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: navi pillay, nobel peace prize, international criminal court, international law, south africa, trump administration, human rights, sanctions, news, world
## Judge wins Nobel Peace Prize
Navanethem Navi Pillay, a South African jurist and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, won the two thousand twenty-six Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
## From apartheid to international courts
Born in nineteen forty-one into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became the first non-white woman to establish a legal practice in the country and defended anti-apartheid activists.
## Career spans more than fifty years
Pillay has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court throughout her career.She was U.N.
## Judge in Myanmar genocide case
Pillay, eighty-five, is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide. She also chaired a U.N. Commission of Inquiry that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
## Israel dismisses her work as fake
Israel dismissed the U.N. Commission report as scandalous and fake. Israel's Foreign Ministry criticized Pillay's Nobel win, referring to it as a grotesque weaponization of the award.

> grotesque weaponization
## Fifth South African Nobel laureate
Pillay is the fifth South African national to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She follows Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Albert Luthuli.
## Pillay dedicates prize to survivors
Pillay dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to all survivors of international crimes and people defending international criminal justice, whose compassion and courage ensure impunity will not reign.
## International law under attack
At a press conference at the International Nuremberg Principle Academy in Germany, Pillay said we are living through an era when international law and human rights are under significant political attack, particularly visible with attacks…

> We are living through an era when international law and human rights are under significant political attack
## Trump Administration sanctions ICC
Hours after Pillay's win, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the Trump Administration is placing sweeping new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, blocking all property and interests in the U.S.
## Rubio warns ICC to end threats
Rubio said the U.S. will ban transactions with the court, cutting off resources and crippling its ability to operate. He warned either the ICC will end its threats or the U.S. will end the ICC.

> Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC
## International allies defend the court
The Foreign Ministers of Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the U.K. denounced the sanctions in a joint statement expressing unwavering support for the ICC's independence, impartiality, and integrity.
## Key takeaway

Navi Pillay, a South African judge and former U.N. human rights commissioner, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace and international law, but the Trump Administration immediately announced sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court.