South Africa's Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - OSLO — The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her contributions to promote peace and international law, the Nobel jury announced on Friday in Oslo, Norway.

Pillay’s work is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, while announcing the winner of the most prestigious honor on the planet.

The committee said in a statement that the former UN human rights chief had been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.

“At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity,” the committee said.

“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 statement read.

A South African of Indian Tamil origin, the 85-year-old Pillay acted as a defense attorney for Nelson Mandela, who previously won the peace prize, and other anti-apartheid activists.

She has also served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She currently sits on the International Court of Justice in the case in which Myanmar stands accused of genocide.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo received nominations for 287 candidates for this year’s prize, and just over a quarter of them are organisations. 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 Maria Corina Machado won 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”.

Machado gave US President Donald Trump her Nobel medal shortly after the United States ousted then-president Nicolas Maduro. But it was largely a symbolic gesture: the Nobel Committee has said the honour itself cannot be transferred.

Four of this year's Nobels were announced earlier this week.

The Nobel for medicine went to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works. The physics award recognized a scientist’s efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos. The chemistry prize recognised two scientists for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has been used to develop countless drugs.

Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the literature prize Thursday for “bold and inventive” works that fuse the classical and the modern and blur the boundaries of poetry and prose.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, small group of laureates or organization.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the peace prize, which so far has gone to 112 individuals and 28 separate institutions since its inception in 1901. The Red Cross has won three times and the UN refugee agency twice.