Indian-Origin Navi Pillay Wins Nobel for Work on International Justice
Navanethem Navi Pillay, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
By Sakshi
New Delhi, October 9: Navanethem Navi Pillay, a South African jurist of Indian Tamil origin and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law. Pillay, who has served as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was recognised for her contributions to strengthening international law and ensuring accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
During apartheid, Pillay defended anti-apartheid activists, including political prisoners held on Robben Island. Her legal career began in 1967, when she became the first woman to establish a law practice in South Africa’s Natal Province.
The prize will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10. This year, the award carries prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor, or approximately $1.2 million. The announcement marks the 125th anniversary of the first Nobel Prizes, awarded in 1901.
Born on September 23, 1941, in Durban, South Africa, Pillay grew up in an Indian Tamil family under apartheid, a system of institutionalised racial segregation and white minority rule that formally lasted from 1948 to 1994. In 1995, she became the first Black woman appointed to South Africa’s High Court. She subsequently served as a judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as a judge at the ICC. From 2008 to 2014, she served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the first Nobel Peace Prize, awarded 125 years ago, had underscored the importance of resolving conflicts through international law, a theme that has remained central to the award’s history.
This year, the committee received 287 nominations, including slightly more than a quarter for organisations. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 112 individuals and 28 organisations, according to the Nobel Committee.
