Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay reflects on career forged under apartheid
In her first Australian interview since winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, Navanethem "Navi" Pillay reflects on growing up in a segregated South Africa, her trailblazing career as a judge, and Trump's "pathetic" criticisms of her.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navi Pillay discussed her career, growing up under apartheid, and Trump's criticisms in her first Australian interview since receiving the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Durban, South Africa in 1941, Pillay experienced the oppressive atmosphere of racial segregation her entire life, even as a child. She became the first woman in her province to open a law practice and was the first non-white woman appointed to South Africa's High Court.
After graduating from the University of Natal in 1965, she opened her own law practice, becoming the first woman in Natal to do so. Trump's comments that "some woman got it and nobody knows her" drew criticism from Pillay, who emphasized her 60 years of work in human rights and justice. She condemned the sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court by the US and its allies, calling them unlawful and cruel.
Pillay served as the chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory from 2021 to 2025, determining that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza war. Despite the non-binding nature of the report, Pillay emphasized its significance in holding governments accountable for atrocities.
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