The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay. Born in Durban on 23 September 1941, Pillay rose to the top of international courts of justice. Today he is a judge at the International Court of Justice in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide. At first the commission was unable to contact her and had publicly asked the jurist to answer the phone.
“If you clap louder I could share the prize with Trump”
“If you clap a little louder, I might share this award with Trump.” This is the joke with which Navi Pillay reacted to the news of the award of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize during a meeting at the Nuremberg Tribunal.
Amazing moment.
Navi Pillay has received the Nobel Peace Prize! https://t.co/HL3r1PJzLO
We are at the Nuremberg Court; I cannot think of a stronger symbol for her Nobel prize.
We are all so thrilled!
This is her first reactions upon hearing the news: https://t.co/Crbj6XdiyQ
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) October 9, 2026
The scene was filmed in a video published on X by the general secretary of Amnesty international, Agnes Callamard. The South African jurist, greeted by applause from those present, initially showed disbelief at the recognition. “I didn’t know anything about it. My question is: is it true?”, he asked, receiving reassurances that the news had already been spread by the international media.
“It’s not an April Fool’s joke,” she was told. “Being a lawyer and a judge, I still want to check it out,” Pillay replied. “You don’t want to receive an award or recognition if the public doesn’t agree that you deserve it,” he added, thanking those present for the applause. “I really hope it’s not a joke,” he concluded.
Reasons for the award
“The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to a person who, with exceptional courage and integrity, has pioneered a more comprehensive global legal order,” the Norwegian committee writes. “This year’s winner has played an instrumental role in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted,” reads the statement published online. Which then announces the awarding of the award to Pillay with the following motivation: “For his commitment to the promotion of peace and international law”.
Who is Pillay
Pillay was born into a family from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu during apartheid in Durban. She became a lawyer and was a legal pioneer, tackling deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. “A common thread links his early work in defense of Nelson Mandela and others who opposed apartheid to his service as a judge in some of the most important International Court of Justice cases of our time,” the Nobel Peace Committee writes.
In his career he has served as a judge at the High Court of South Africa, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, chaired the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Which, in 2025, accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.