South African jurist Navi Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
South African judge Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her work to promote peace and international law. The Nobel committee in Oslo said she helped make sure war crimes and genocide get taken to court, at a time when world courts face attacks. The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million.
South African judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee named her Friday in Oslo "for her efforts to promote peace and international law." Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes made the announcement at 11 a.m. local time, or 5 a.m. ET.
The committee said Pillay "has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted." Its statement put the point in three words: "Peace requires justice."
The choice comes in a tense year for world courts. The committee wrote that international law is "under tremendous pressure." It said judges are now being sanctioned and their courts attacked. The statement did not name any country.
Pillay was born into a family of Indian Tamil origin in Durban, under apartheid. She became a lawyer and, the committee said, defended Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid. She went on to serve as a judge on South Africa's High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She also served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Her Rwanda work broke new ground. The committee said her influence was "a significant factor" when that court found that rape and sexual violence could count as a crime against humanity and as genocide. In the same case, a defendant was charged for the first time with inciting genocide purely by spreading propaganda.
Until recently, Pillay chaired the U.N. inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory. Today she sits as a judge at the International Court of Justice in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide.
The prize drew close attention in Washington. President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that the committee has "a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me," the BBC reported. Last year's winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, gave Trump her medal in January. The committee has said the honor itself cannot be handed on, France 24 reported.
The committee weighed 287 nominees this year, 208 people and 79 groups, according to the BBC. The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million, DW reported. It will be presented on Dec. 10, the day Alfred Nobel died, The Guardian noted.
How to follow: The committee's full statement and a replay of the announcement are posted at nobelprize.org.
What we know: Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote peace and international law.
What we don't: How Pillay and world leaders, including Trump, will respond to the choice.
Where outlets agree The BBC, DW and The Guardian all report that Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.