Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the South African jurist who helped establish that rape can be prosecuted as genocide, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award in Oslo on Friday, October 9, citing her work to promote peace and international law and to ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
“Under tremendous pressure”
Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said the international legal system was “under tremendous pressure” and its institutions “under attack.” He described judges as guardians of the boundary between order and chaos, and said “it is an absolute necessity” that international law be more than a supplement to peace and security.
It is the 125th Nobel Peace Prize. The committee considered 287 nominations; publicly discussed contenders had included the International Space Station, emergency response teams in Sudan, children’s advocates in Ukraine and two international courts.
A career that began under apartheid
Pillay, 85, is a South African of Indian Tamil descent. In 1967 she became the first woman to open a law practice in what was then Natal province, and she defended anti-apartheid activists in the courts of the apartheid state. In 1995 she became the first woman of colour appointed to South Africa’s High Court.
Her international career is the reason for the prize:
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: as a judge, she was part of the landmark ruling that rape and sexual violence can constitute genocide and crimes against humanity — a principle the committee singled out.
- International Criminal Court: she served among the court’s first judges.
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: from 2008 to 2014.
- Commission of Inquiry: she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, which concluded last year that Israel was responsible for genocide in Gaza.
- International Court of Justice: she currently sits in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide against the Rohingya.
Her reaction
Speaking in the Nuremberg courtroom where Nazi leaders were tried after the Second World War, Pillay said she would dedicate the award “to all of the survivors of international crimes.” She defended her commission’s findings on Gaza, asking why it should take courage “to speak the truth,” and criticised political attacks on international law and the International Criminal Court.
Praise — and condemnation
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the award. Israel’s Foreign Ministry called it “the grotesque weaponisation of an award” to legitimise anti-Israel hatred. US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the committee had “demeaned” the prize; on the same day, the White House announced further sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.