Breaking: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Judge Navi Pillay

Topic:Awards and PrizesPosted Fri 9 Oct 2026 at 8:14pmFri 9 Oct 2026 at 8:14pm, updated Fri 9 Oct 2026 at 8:41pmFri 9 Oct 2026 at 8:41pmThe Nobel Peace Prize, often considered the most prestigious award, was announced in Oslo, Norway. (AP: Angela Weiss/Pool Photo File)The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay for significantly enlarging the scope and impact of international law.The South Africa-born former UN human rights chief was recognised for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.Ms Pillay, 85, served as a judge in the International Criminal Court, the High Court of South Africa and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.FILE - U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights South African Navanethem Pillay prior to the 23rd session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2013. (AP: Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)Her work "is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world," Mr Watne Frydnes said, announcing her win.The committee had not yet been able to reach Ms Pillay to inform her she had received the peace prize, he confirmed, which is often considered the most prestigious honour on the planet."At a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising, and when judges and institutions of international law are under political attack, the Nobel Committee wishes to issue a reminder that the ability to resolve conflicts without force or violence is dependent on the international rule of law," the committee wrote in a news release."An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account, and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world."Navi Pillay visited the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland when she was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (Reuters: Mateusz Skwarczes via Agencja Gazeta)The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo received nominations for 287 candidates for this year's prize.Experts say the committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman "who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness".Ms Machado gave US President Donald Trump her Nobel medal shortly after the United States ousted then-president Nicolás Maduro. But it was largely a symbolic gesture: the Nobel Committee has said the honour itself cannot be transferred.AP