2026 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay

 On October 9, the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law."

"The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to an individual who, with exceptional courage and integrity, has paved the way for a broader global legal order. This year's laureate has played a pivotal role in ensuring the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide," the statement reads.

 Navi Pillay was born on September 23, 1941, into a family of Indian Tamil origin during the apartheid era in Durban, South Africa.

"She became a lawyer and a legal pioneer, confronting profound structural discrimination, segregation, and exclusion. A single thread connects her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who rose up against apartheid with her service as a judge in some of the key international trials of our time," the organization noted.

•  According to the Committee, this year's laureate "has significantly expanded the scope and impact of international law."

"She has served as a judge on the High Court of South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today, Navi Pillay is a judge at the International Court of Justice in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide," the institution noted.