Oslo [Norway], October 9 – Former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.
The committee said the award underscored the importance of maintaining an international order based on law, warning that international legal institutions were facing growing pressure.
Pillay, 85, was born in Durban, South Africa, to a family of Indian Tamil origin. Her career has included serving as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a judge at the International Criminal Court and a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
She also chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded in a report published last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the report as “scandalous”.
The Nobel Committee praised Pillay for holding states and national leaders accountable and bringing hope to victims of violence and conflict. It drew a connection between her early work defending Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists and her later role in international justice.
In 1967, Pillay became the first woman to establish a law practice in South Africa’s Natal province. She later became the first non-white woman to serve on the country’s High Court.
The Nobel Peace Prize carries an award of 12 million Swedish kronor, approximately $1.2 million. The award ceremony is scheduled for December 10 in Oslo.
