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Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Price for her efforts to prosecute war crimes and genocide.
Navanethem “Navi” Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her work promoting peace and international law. The South African lawyer and former judge was recognized for her instrumental role in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
Pillay, 85 years old, was born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa. Her career includes service as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She also served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stated that Pillay has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted. "Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict," The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement. "In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law."
Watne Frydnes added that Pillay’s work "is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world."
The prize is given each year to a person or institution that has "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations," as per the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The winner is selected by a committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the peace prize, which has been awarded to 112 individuals and 28 separate institutions since its inception in 1901.
In 2026, laureates receive 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million). The committee noted that it had not yet been able to reach Pillay to notify her of the award. "My message to her would be 'if you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up'," Frydnes told reporters from Oslo.
Four other Nobel Prizes were announced earlier in the week. The Nobel for medicine went to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works. The physics award recognized a scientist’s efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos. The chemistry prize recognized two scientists for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules.
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the literature prize Thursday for "bold and inventive" works that fuse the classical and the modern and blur the boundaries of poetry and prose.
The award highlights the continued importance of international legal frameworks in holding leaders accountable for severe human rights violations. It comes at a time when the committee noted that judges and institutions of international law are under political attack, emphasizing the need for the rule of law to resolve conflicts without force.
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