Navi Pillay, advocate for international law, wins Nobel Peace Prize

Navenethem "Navi" Pillay, a South African jurist, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on Friday, October 9, 2026, recognizing her efforts to promote peace and international law. According to the committee, Pillay demonstrated exceptional courage and integrity in advancing a more comprehensive global legal order.

Pillay has had a long and distinguished career, serving as a judge on several international courts, including the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Court of Justice. She has also served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The committee noted that her commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in her career.

Pillay's work has been marked by her early efforts defending Nelson Mandela and others who opposed apartheid, as well as her subsequent service in significant international court cases. The Nobel Committee's decision to award her the peace prize is seen as a reminder of the importance of the international rule of law in resolving conflicts without force or violence, particularly at a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising.

Brief written by urgent.news from Axios, Punch Nigeria, The Korea Times, Punch, The Citizen — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.