Who is Navi Pillay, winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize?

The 85-year-old South African judge has spent decades fighting apartheid and genocide.

South African lawyer and champion of international law Navi Pillay is pictured after she was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, on October 9, 2026 [AFP]

South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the fifth South African to win it.

Making the announcement on Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Pillay for her decades-long efforts to prosecute genocide and war crimes, which have been marked by “judicial rigour, personal integrity and considerable courage”.

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From defending activists in apartheid-era South Africa, to more recently overseeing a United Nations inquiry which declared Israel responsible for genocide in Gaza, the 85-year-old, who is also a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has specialised in international law for decades.

Here’s what we know about her life and why she has been awarded the world’s top peace prize:

Navanethem Pillay, known as Navi Pillay, was born in the racially segregated city of Durban in South Africa’s Natal province in 1940 to parents of Tamil descent.

After earning a law degree from the University of Natal, she became the first woman in Natal province to start her own law firm. Early in her career, she helped defend numerous anti-apartheid activists in the country.

She later became the first woman of colour to sit on the High Court of South Africa. She went on to preside over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which prosecuted those charged with humanitarian crimes during the 1994 Rwandan genocide .

Pillay was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) from 2008 to 2014. More recently she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory which determined last year that Israel is responsible for carrying out genocide in Gaza .

Currently, Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice, acting in a case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

What work is she best known for?

Pillay has spent much of her life advocating for human rights in her home South Africa and abroad. While studying, she took part in boycotts and marches against apartheid. She later joined the legal defence of some of the country’s most prominent anti-apartheid figures, such as Phyllis Naidoo and Strini Moodley.

In 1973, Pillay took on a case that helped secure basic rights, including legal access, for political prisoners on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was jailed.

In a 2016 interview with the Diplomatic Courier, Pillay said her early human rights work was “shaped by what (she) had experienced under apartheid”.

“I used many of the challenges to my advantage, I had to learn international humanitarian law so as to defend cases of racial discrimination,” she said.

Pillay oversaw a UN commission of inquiry which concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

In a statement on the report, Pillay urged UN member states to do everything they can to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and to “ensure justice and accountability for all victims”.

What has she been awarded the Nobel Prize for?

The Nobel committee said Pillay was being honoured for her “efforts to promote peace and international law”.

It called her one of “the great defenders of international legal principles in our time”, having helped hold states and national leaders to account and bring “hope to victims of violence and conflict”.

The committee stressed the role Pillay played in the Rwandan genocide tribunal, saying her influence helped establish “that rape and sexual violence could constitute a crime against humanity – as well as genocide”.

“In the same case, Ms Pillay was instrumental in a separate legal breakthrough: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda,” said the committee.

Why is her win so significant?

The committee said honouring Pillay is especially important at a time when international law “is under tremendous pressure and its institutions are under attack”.

That message was echoed by rights advocates and international officials.

The UN’s rights chief, Volker Turk, said her award was “a recognition, a reaffirmation that human rights, the rule of law and justice and accountability are fundamental to everything, to peace, to security and prosperity”.

International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane said the award carried special significance “at a time of profound challenges to the international legal order and the rule of law”.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa praised the award as a tribute to Pillay’s “courage, integrity ⁠⁠⁠⁠and lifelong commitment to justice”.

Haakon Gjerlow, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said it “sends a clear message that peace depends not only on political leadership, but on strong, credible international institutions and the courageous people who dedicate their lives to defending them .”

Ashok Swain, a professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University, told Al Jazeera that the selection of Pillay was a “pleasant surprise” and the “best possible choice”.

He said the Nobel committee likely took into consideration Pillay’s lifelong record fighting genocide and apartheid. He added that the award to the South African jurist could also be read as a message to United States President Donald Trump, who has long argued that he is deserving of the peace prize and whose administration has clashed with South Africa over debunked claims that white Afrikaners are facing “genocide” .

Furthermore, last year, the Trump administration issued sanctions against members of the ICC in what many critics saw as an attack on the system of international law.

The ICC had previously issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC responded by describing the US sanctions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” and the victims of war crimes around the world. It said it would continue its work “without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat”.

How has Pillay responded?

Pillay appeared to learn of the award as media reports circulated, telling a group of supporters applauding her: “I don’t know about this. So my question is: Is it true?”

She also jokingly referenced Trump, saying, “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.”

Once the news was confirmed, Pillay said she would dedicate the award to “all of the survivors of international crimes”.

“This award strengthens my conviction that we must ⁠⁠⁠⁠stand together in defence of ⁠⁠⁠⁠the rule of law, in defence of independent ⁠⁠⁠⁠courts and an international ⁠⁠⁠⁠legal order based ⁠⁠⁠⁠on principle.”

Earlier, the Nobel committee said it had struggled to get in touch with Pillay to notify her. “If you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up,” said committee chair, Jorgen Watne Frydnes.

这位85岁的南非法官数十年来一直致力于反对种族隔离和种族灭绝。

南非律师、国际法倡导者纳维·皮莱在2026年10月9日获得2026年诺贝尔和平奖后留影。[法新社]

南非法官纳瓦内特姆·“纳维”·皮莱荣获2026年诺贝尔和平奖，成为第五位获此殊荣的南非人。

挪威诺贝尔委员会于周五宣布了这一消息，并赞扬皮莱数十年来为起诉种族灭绝和战争罪行所做的努力，称其“司法严谨、个人正直和非凡勇气”是其标志。

联合国讨论预防种族灭绝的三个案例之一：六次未能做到这一点

名单之二：伊朗诺贝尔奖得主纳尔吉斯·穆罕默迪健康状况恶化，入院治疗

马来西亚曾收容罗兴亚人，如今却想让他们离开（名单3/3）。

从为种族隔离时期的南非活动人士辩护，到最近监督联合国一项宣布以色列对加沙种族灭绝负有责任的调查，这位 85 岁的老人同时也是国际法院 (ICJ) 的法官，几十年来一直专注于国际法。

以下是我们对她生平的了解，以及她为何获得世界最高和平奖的原因：

纳瓦内特姆·皮莱（Navanethem Pillay），又名纳维·皮莱（Navi Pillay），1940 年出生于南非纳塔尔省种族隔离的德班市，父母是泰米尔人后裔。

从纳塔尔大学获得法学学位后，她成为纳塔尔省第一位创办自己律师事务所的女性。在她职业生涯早期，她曾帮助该国众多反种族隔离活动人士进行辩护。

她后来成为南非高等法院第一位有色人种女性法官。之后，她担任卢旺达问题国际刑事法庭（卢旺达问题国际法庭）庭长，该法庭负责审理在1994年卢旺达种族灭绝期间犯下人道主义罪行的被告。

皮莱于 2008 年至 2014 年担任联合国人权事务高级专员（人权高专办）。最近，她担任联合国巴勒斯坦被占领土问题独立国际调查委员会主席，该委员会去年认定以色列应对加沙地带的种族灭绝行为负责。

目前，皮莱是国际法院的一名法官，正在审理一起缅甸被指控对以穆斯林为主的罗兴亚少数族裔实施种族灭绝的案件。

她最知名的作品是什么？

皮莱一生致力于在南非及海外倡导人权。求学期间，她积极参与抵制和反对种族隔离的游行示威活动。后来，她加入到为南非一些最著名的反种族隔离人士提供法律辩护的行列，例如菲利斯·奈杜和斯特里尼·穆德利。

1973 年，皮莱接手了一个案件，帮助罗本岛上的政治犯获得了基本权利，包括获得法律援助的权利。纳尔逊·曼德拉曾被关押在罗本岛上。

皮莱在 2016 年接受《外交信使报》采访时表示，她早期的人权工作“受到了她在种族隔离制度下的经历的影响”。

“我利用了很多挑战，比如我必须学习国际人道主义法，以便为种族歧视案件进行辩护，”她说。

皮莱主持了一个联合国调查委员会，该委员会于 2025 年得出结论，认为以色列在加沙犯下了种族灭绝罪。

皮莱在一份关于该报告的声明中敦促联合国成员国尽一切努力在加沙建立停火，并“确保所有受害者得到公正对待和追究责任”。

她因何获得诺贝尔奖？

诺贝尔委员会表示，皮莱因其“为促进和平与国际法所做的努力”而获此殊荣。

报道称她为“我们这个时代国际法律原则的伟大捍卫者之一”，帮助追究国家和国家领导人的责任，并为“暴力和冲突的受害者带来希望”。

委员会强调了皮莱在卢旺达种族灭绝法庭中发挥的作用，称她的影响力帮助确立了“强奸和性暴力可能构成危害人类罪，以及种族灭绝罪”。

委员会表示：“在同一案件中，皮莱女士在另一项法律突破中发挥了重要作用：被告人首次仅仅因为散布宣传就面临煽动种族灭绝的指控。”

为什么她的胜利如此重要？

委员会表示，在国际法“面临巨大压力，其机构受到攻击”的当下，表彰皮莱尤为重要。

人权倡导者和国际官员也表达了同样的观点。

联合国人权事务高级专员沃尔克·图尔克表示，她获得的奖项“是对人权、法治、正义和问责制的认可和重申，这些原则对一切、对和平、安全和繁荣都至关重要”。

国际刑事法院院长茜智子表示，在“国际法律秩序和法治面临深刻挑战之际”，该奖项具有特殊的意义。

南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨称赞该奖项是对皮莱“勇气、正直和毕生致力于正义”的致敬。

奥斯陆和平研究所代理所长哈康·杰尔洛夫表示，这“传递了一个明确的信息，即和平不仅取决于政治领导力，还取决于强大、可信的国际机构以及那些为捍卫这些机构而献身的勇敢的人们。”

乌普萨拉大学和平与冲突研究教授阿肖克·斯瓦恩告诉半岛电视台，皮莱的当选是一个“令人惊喜的”和“最佳选择”。

他表示，诺贝尔委员会很可能考虑到了皮莱毕生致力于反对种族灭绝和种族隔离的贡献。他还补充说，授予这位南非法学家诺贝尔和平奖，也可以被解读为向美国总统唐纳德·特朗普传递的信息。特朗普长期以来一直声称自己配得上诺贝尔和平奖，而他的政府也曾因已被驳斥的“白人阿非利卡人正面临种族灭绝”的说法与南非发生冲突。

此外，去年特朗普政府对国际刑事法院成员国实施制裁，许多批评人士认为这是对国际法体系的攻击。

国际刑事法院此前已对以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和前国防部长约阿夫·加兰特发出逮捕令，指控他们犯有战争罪和反人类罪。

国际刑事法院回应称，美国的制裁是对“公正司法机构的独立性”以及对世界各地战争罪行受害者的“公然攻击”。该法院表示，将继续开展工作，“不受任何限制、压力或威胁的影响”。

皮莱对此作何回应？

皮莱似乎是在媒体报道传开后才得知获奖消息的，她对一群为她鼓掌的支持者说：“我不知道这件事。所以我的问题是：这是真的吗？”

她还开玩笑地提到了特朗普，说：“如果你们再多鼓掌一点，我可能就会和特朗普分享这个奖项了。”

消息得到确认后，皮莱表示她将把这个奖项献给“所有国际犯罪的幸存者”。

“这项奖项更加坚定了我的信念，即我们必须团结起来捍卫法治，捍卫独立的法院和基于原则的国际法律秩序。”

此前，诺贝尔委员会表示，他们一直难以联系到皮莱女士，以便通知她获奖消息。委员会主席约根·瓦特内·弗里德内斯说：“如果您看到挪威号码打来的电话，请接听。”