Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

South African jurist and human rights lawyer Navi Pillay, 85, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting international law and peace and advancing accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Her career includes legal work for political prisoners during apartheid, judging and presiding over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, serving as the UN human rights chief, and leading a UN commission that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza—a finding Israel rejected. In the tribunal’s Akayesu case, she helped establish that rape and sexual violence can constitute acts of genocide. Pillay said she wanted to verify the Nobel news before accepting it and joked about sharing the prize with Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he deserves it; her win was celebrated in Clairwood, Durban, the community that supported her education. The prize is worth 12 million Swedish kronor, as the Nobel Foundation marks its 125th anniversary.