Former UN human rights chief, ICC judge wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, citing what the committee described as her efforts to promote human rights and a global legal order. Pillay, born in South Africa, contributed to international law and helped ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide were prosecuted, the committee said.

Pillay was involved in the anti-apartheid movement as a lawyer, and was part of Nelson Mandela’s legal team, according to the committee. She subsequently served as a judge on South Africa’s High Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she contributed to the international legal precedent of treating rape as a form of genocide and a crime against humanity, the Nobel committee said. Pillay also served as the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, and until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the committee. She has also served as a judge on the International Criminal Court for several years, and is currently a judge for a genocide case against the government of Myanmar at the International Court of Justice.

The Nobel committee said a key theme in the history of the peace prize was the importance of resolving conflicts through international law, rather than through the will of the powerful. International law isn’t perfect, but it is a necessity, especially in a time of increased wars, conflicts, and power politics, the committee said. Pillay was chosen for the award partially because the committee wanted to remind the world of that fact, it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday sharply criticized the Nobel committee’s decision, saying it gave its highest honor to a bigot whose career was built on lying about the Jewish state. She enabled a corrupt prosecutor’s case against Israel at the International Criminal Court, he said. The court in 2024 issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on last year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient.