Navi Pillay awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the South African jurist for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay. The decision was announced on 9 October.
The Committee cited her efforts to promote peace and international law. Pillay is a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and has served as a judge on international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the tribunal for Rwanda.
Reuters notes that the 85-year-old Pillay defended opponents of apartheid and became the first non-white woman to serve on South Africa’s High Court. She currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide.
The decision also prompted political reactions. Pillay chaired a UN commission that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza; Israel rejected that finding and condemned the award. These are the positions of the respective parties, not a new judicial ruling.
The prize is worth 12 million Swedish crowns. The award ceremony is scheduled for 10 December in Oslo.
Sources and photograph
Norwegian Nobel Committee — official announcement, 9 October 2026
Reuters — profile and international reactions, 9 October 2026
Archive photograph: Navi Pillay in Brazil, 12 November 2009. Antônio Cruz / Agência Brasil, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 BR. Cropped to approximately 1200×675 px by 5000.news. The photograph is not from the prize announcement.
