Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a former UN human rights chief, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her "efforts to promote peace and international law," the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stated that Pillay's work has been "instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted." He added, "Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career." Frydnes noted that Pillay was not notified in advance and quipped, "so my message to her would be 'if you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up'."
Pillay, initially surprised, reacted by saying, "it must be a joke." She later joked that she might share the prize with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pillay's career spans decades of work in international law and human rights. Growing up in South Africa during apartheid, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal Province in 1967 and later the first non-white woman appointed to the country's high court. She also served as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including four years as its president, focusing on the prosecution of crimes related to the 1994 genocide.
From 2021 to 2025, Pillay chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The commission concluded that Israel had committed genocidal acts in Gaza and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant had "incited the commission of genocide." This finding was rejected by Israel, which accused the commission members of serving as "Hamas proxies." The panel had previously concluded that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes on October 7, 2023, while also accusing Israel of war crimes.
Frydnes clarified that the Nobel organization is not taking a position on whether the Israeli offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Pillay is currently a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a case where Myanmar is accused by The Gambia of genocide against the Rohingya people. Myanmar has denied the allegations.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk praised the award, calling it "a reaffirmation that human rights, the rule of law and justice, and accountability are fundamental to everything, to peace, to security, and prosperity." South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded her as a "pioneering defence attorney for anti-apartheid activists" who worked to "uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally." Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, described Pillay as an "inspired choice" whose award comes at a critical time when "international law and justice are under attack."