Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

South African judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, 85, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday "for her efforts to promote peace and international law", announced the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Pillay held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict, the committee noted. She demonstrated a strong moral compass throughout her long career, from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who resisted apartheid to her role as a judge in key international court cases.

The committee highlighted that Pillay's work spanned her advocacy for Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists to her involvement in significant international court cases. Notably, Pillay chaired the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza last year.

Israel, however, rejected the report as "scandalous". The Nobel Peace Prize is the fifth Nobel award in a week, following literature, chemistry, physics and medicine. Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, was awarded the prize in 2025. The prize, worth 12 million Swedish crowns or approximately $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's death, who established the awards in his 1895 will.