Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay Wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

October 9, 2026:

Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay Wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

Navi Pillay at a press conference in Geneva on June 18, 2025. —Fabrice Coffrini—Getty Images

Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a South African jurist and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

She has been recognized “for her efforts to promote peace and international law,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

“Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion,” continued Frydnes. “A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.”

Frydnes noted that Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 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,” he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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