Updated October 9, 2026 at 7:26 AM EDT
Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay, a leading South African jurist and former U.N. human rights chief, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her lifetime commitment to international law.
At a ceremony in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes called Pillay "one of the most courageous and legal experts of our time."
"There is a thread to her involvement in standing and supporting Nelson Mandela and the prisoners of Robben Island, to her being a key to all the major international court cases of our time," he said.
Born in Durban in 1941, Pillay—who is a South African of Indian-Tamil descent—became the first woman of color to open a legal practice in her home province of Natal, where she defended anti-apartheid activists.
In 1973, she successfully sued the government to establish that political prisoners on South Africa's infamous Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela, had the right to legal representation.
A year after apartheid ended in 1994, Pillay became a high court judge in South Africa. She was shortly appointed to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she presided over a landmark case that established that rape and sexual assault could constitute an acts of genocide.
Pillay served as a judge at the International Criminal Court before becoming U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, a post she held from 2008 to 2014.
The 85-year old was attending a conference in Nuremberg, Germany, when she received the news she had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
"If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump," she joked in front of a small crowd of well-wishers. "Being a lawyer and a judge I still want to verify this information," she added, to laughter.
Pillay referred to her recent work as chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
She also sought to play down suggestions that she was courageous.
"Why would you need courage to speak the truth? You interpret the law, you look at all the facts, so it's impartial decision-making," she said.
This year's Nobel Peace Prize attracted 287 nominations, including individuals and organizations. The award carries prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor, approximately $1.2 million. The 2026 prize marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, first awarded in 1901.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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