Former UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay for significantly enlarging the scope and impact of international law.

The South Africa-born former UN human rights chief was recognised for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Ms Pillay, 85, served as a judge in the International Criminal Court, the High Court of South Africa and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Her work "is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world," Mr Watne Frydnes said, announcing her win.

The committee had not yet been able to reach Ms Pillay to inform her she had received the peace prize, he confirmed, which is often considered the most prestigious honour on the planet.

"At a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising, and when judges and institutions of international law are under political attack, the Nobel Committee wishes to issue a reminder that the ability to resolve conflicts without force or violence is dependent on the international rule of law," the committee wrote in a news release.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo received nominations for 287 candidates for this year's prize.

Experts say the committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.

Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman "who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness".

Ms Machado gave US President Donald Trump her Nobel medal shortly after the United States ousted then-president Nicolás Maduro. But it was largely a symbolic gesture: the Nobel Committee has said the honour itself cannot be transferred.