Updated October 9, 2026 at 11:18 AM MDT
Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a leading South African jurist and former U.N. human rights chief, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her lifetime commitment to international law.
At a ceremony in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes called Pillay "one of the most courageous and important legal experts of our time."
"There is a thread to her involvement in standing and supporting Nelson Mandela and the prisoners of Robben Island, to her being a key to all the major international court cases of our time," he said.
The 85-year-old was attending a conference in Nuremberg, Germany, when she received the news.
At a news conference, Pillay said she was deeply honored and dedicated the prize to "all of the survivors of international crimes" and "defenders of international justice."
"We are living through an era when international law and human rights are under significant political attack," she added.
Hours after her win, the United States issued new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, which the Trump administration has warned it is working to dismantle.
From defending South African activists to U.N. human rights chief
Born in Durban in 1941, Pillay — who is a South African of Indian-Tamil descent — became the first woman of color to open a legal practice in her home province of Natal. She defended anti-apartheid activists, beginning a career studded with lasting achievements.
In 1973, she successfully sued the government to establish that political prisoners on South Africa's infamous Robben Island, including Mandela, had the right to legal representation.
A year after apartheid ended in 1994, Pillay became a high court judge in South Africa in 1995. She was shortly appointed to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she presided over a landmark case that established that rape and sexual assault could constitute acts of genocide.
Pillay later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2012, as well as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2008 to 2014.
She led a U.N. commission report describing Israel's actions as genocide
Pillay was applauded by colleagues while in Nuremberg after receiving the news of her Nobel win.
"If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump," she joked in front of a small crowd of well-wishers. "Being a lawyer and a judge I still want to verify this information," she added, to laughter.
The winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, gifted Trump the physical gold medal she received in January. The Nobel Committee reacted to Machado's move by saying the prize cannot be transferred to others.
Pillay referred to her recent work as chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israeli leaders strongly reject the accusation.
In response to the Nobel prize decision, Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X that it rewarded "anti-Israel hatred." It added: "Joseph Goebbels is certainly applauding from hell."
Others, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, as well as human rights advocates, praised the move to award Pillay the prize.
"Congratulations to her, she's the fifth South African to achieve the Nobel Prize," South Africa's new ambassador to Washington, Roelf Meyer, told NPR.
Pillay joins anti-apartheid luminaries Chief Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Nelson Mandela in winning the award, as well as former President F.W. de Klerk. But Meyer noted she is the first woman. "We as South Africans are very, very proud of her."
Meyer also said she exemplified South Africa's constitutional legal system — which was established at the start of the nation's democracy, following the end of apartheid.
But Pillay's award comes amid a diplomatic low-point between the U.S. and South Africa.
President Trump has falsely accused the government of persecuting South Africa's white minority. The U.S. has also criticized South Africa's genocide case against Israel brought before the International Court of Justice.
U.S. pressure on International Criminal Court
Although the Trump administration has not yet publicly commented on Pillay's win, its sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court have sent a signal.
"We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate," Rubio said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The U.S. had already sanctioned senior officials of the court, including half of its judges and its former chief prosecutor, piling significant pressure on the institution.
The sanctions are connected to investigations into U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan, as well as arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of the International Criminal Court, but the Trump administration has argued that the court threatens U.S. sovereignty.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that continued attacks on the rule of law and its institutions had influenced its decisions.
"This is a message that international law and its institutions are the cornerstone of a more peaceful world," Jørgen Watne Frydnes said.
The news of Pillay's win will surely be seen as a blow to President Trump, who has long coveted the Nobel Peace Prize. He told reporters on Wednesday he believed he deserved it.
"I settled eight wars," Trump said, while admitting that the Nobel Prize Committee had "a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me."
This year's Nobel Peace Prize attracted 287 nominations, including individuals and organizations. The award carries prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor, approximately $1.2 million. The 2026 prize marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, first awarded in 1901.
Kate Bartlett contributed reporting from Johannesburg; Michele Kelemen contributed from Washington.
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