A South African has won the Nobel Peace Prize! Judge Navi Pillay has been honoured for her work to hold the world’s worst crimes to account.
South Africa (09 October 2026) – South Africa, we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner! The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2026 prize to Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Navi has spent her career ensuring that the people responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are held to account. The Norwegian Nobel Committee describes her work as showing exceptional courage and integrity, and says she has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order.
Navi’s story starts in Durban. She was born there under apartheid, into a family of Indian Tamil origin, and became a lawyer and legal pioneer at a time when discrimination, segregation and exclusion were built into the system. One of her early jobs was defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid.
Her career has since taken her to some of the most important courtrooms on the planet. She has been a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She has served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today, she’s a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
“In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.” the Nobel Prize committee shares.
Navi’s impact has changed the law itself. When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape and sexual violence could be a crime against humanity, as well as genocide, her influence played a massive role. In the same case, she was instrumental in another breakthrough – for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely for spreading propaganda.
Navi joins a very special club of South Africans who have been awarded Nobel Prizes.
She is the fifth South African to win the Nobel Peace Prize, following Albert Luthuli (1960), Desmond Tutu (1984), Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk (1993). We’ve also had Nobel winners in literature, with Nadine Gordimer (1991) and J.M. Coetzee (2003), in physiology or medicine, with Max Theiler (1951), Alan M. Cormack (1979) and Sydney Brenner (2002), and in chemistry, with Aaron Klug (1982). Navi’s name now sits proudly alongside theirs!
“At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity.” shares the committee.
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“History has shown that a world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges – those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos – are therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are attacked, we need people of courage, vision and determination – qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench.”
Navi has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict. In every role she’s had, she has stressed that individuals and states must follow the rule of law. By advancing the use of tribunals for peace and justice, she also gives substance, direction and motivation to peace conferences in their modern form, which is precisely what Alfred Nobel had in mind when he wrote his will.
“Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law. Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.”
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