Navanethem “Navi” Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
Pillay held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict, and demonstrated a firm moral compass in her long career, the committee said.
“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,” the committee said.
“This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
Navi Pillay was chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory that concluded last year that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Israel dismissed the report as “scandalous”.
The peace prize is the fifth Nobel awarded this week, after literature, chemistry, physics and medicine. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won in 2025.
The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 12 million Swedish crowns, or about $1.2m, is due to be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.
Pakistan nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan had nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his role in “advancing peace in South Asia”.
In a post on X, the prime minister said Trump’s “timely intervention helped bring Pakistan and India back from the brink and secure a ceasefire that is holding till today”.
“In recognition of his outstanding contribution, Pakistan had nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize,” he added.
“We sincerely hope President’s efforts to promote peace and prevent conflict in our region receive due recognition this time,” he said.
