GUWAHATI: Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay, a jurist who has served on several international courts, has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law by ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
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Announcing the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee highlighted the importance of upholding the rule of law at both national and international levels to maintain peace and resolve conflicts without violence.
In its citation, the committee said this year’s award underlined the need to preserve an organised international order at a time when the system of international law faces growing pressure.
“The system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack,” the committee said.
It added that the world was witnessing a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and respect for international law and justice. The committee warned that whenever power takes precedence over rights, it undermines stability, trust and peaceful coexistence.
Born in Durban, in South Africa’s Natal province, Pillay, 85, comes from a family of Indian Tamil origin. During her career, she has served as a judge on several international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
She also served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The commission concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel dismissed as “scandalous”.
Pillay made history in 1967 by becoming the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal. She later became the first non-white woman to serve on South Africa’s High Court.
Throughout her career, she has worked to hold states and national leaders accountable and bring justice to victims of violence and conflict, according to the Nobel Committee.
The committee also drew a connection between her early legal work defending Nelson Mandela and others who opposed apartheid and her later role as a judge in major international court cases.
The award recognises Pillay’s longstanding efforts to uphold international law and ensure accountability for serious crimes, reinforcing the role of justice in building and maintaining peace.
