Navanethem Navi Pillay, a South African lawyer who once served as a judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.
Nobel committee’s chair, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, announced the winner on Friday, recognising Ms Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law”.
“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a person who, with exceptional courage and integrity, has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order,” he said.
Mr Frydnes hailed Ms Pillay’s effort to prosecute war crimes.
“This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted,” he said.
The committee has not been able to reach Ms Pillay, Mr Frydnes said, while answering questions from reporters after the announcement.
“If you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up,” the Nobel committee chair said in a message directed at Ms Pillay on Friday.
Ms Pillay has served as a judge on several benches, including the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.
The highly credentialed Nobel laureate previously served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and recently chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Venezuela’s María Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, which she later gifted to U.S. president Donald Trump, who has long coveted it. She thanked him for his efforts to sanction individuals undermining democracy in Venezuela.
The Swedish Academy this week announced Nobel Prize winners in medicine, physics, chemistry, and literature.
Each Nobel Prize in 2026 is worth 12 million Swedish kronor per prize, about $1.2 million or N1.6 billion.