Thobeka Ngema|Published
Human rights pioneer Judge Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay has dedicated her life to the pursuit of justice. Now, at 85, her Nobel Peace Prize win has given fresh weight to her message that there can be no lasting peace without justice and the rule of law.
Reflecting on her initial reaction to the award, Pillay said she was surprised and did not believe it at first.
“Of course I am deeply honoured to be awarded this prize, and I’ll be very glad if in any way it generates much-needed support for the rule of law. Justice is integral to peace,” Navi said.
Despite criticism of her award from US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pillay said she had worked for justice and human rights throughout her life and would continue to do so.
Navi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
“This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted,” the Nobel Prize said.
Navi Pillay recalls her reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize
Pillay recalled learning of the award while sitting in a courtroom. She said colleagues first saw the news before she watched the official announcement herself.
She described her reaction as “total surprise and deeply, deeply honoured and touched”.
“And more by the criteria you selected me for. So, I know it's a personal award, but for me mainly, it’s for all the institutions I served on as well, all the people I worked with as well,” Navi said in an interview with the Nobel Prize.
“I had absolutely no hint, nothing. Maybe that's the best part of getting a surprise announcement: you had absolutely no idea. And so, it’s overwhelming, deeply emotional for me, yes, since I just heard it about an hour or two ago. Still really, yeah, with disbelief, but excitement," she said shortly after being notified of her win.
From Durban to the international justice system
The former UN rights chief and Nobel Peace Prize laureate is a trailblazing global human rights defender.
Born in Durban to a Tamil family under apartheid rule, Pillay became the first woman of colour to open a law firm in the city, securing legal access for Robben Island political prisoners in 1973.
In 1994, she was appointed South Africa’s first non-white woman High Court judge.
Her international career includes serving on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, holding the post of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, presiding over a UN commission of inquiry on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and acting as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice.
Lifelong friend remembers Pillay’s humility
Dolly Pillay, 84, who has known Navi Pillay for roughly 78 years, recalled their shared upbringing in Clairwood and their lifelong bond through school and university.
She remembered Pillay as exceptionally intelligent and humble from a young age.
“She’s such a humble person. She still lives in the Overport area; she loves the place,” Dolly said. “When she first moved, they had a huge room upstairs; she let it out, and we went and did yoga there. I’m talking about 34 or maybe 40 years ago.”
“She can afford the best homes in the best areas, but she’s with the community. She’s just the most amazing person. As a friend, there’s nothing else I can say, but I just have the greatest admiration, and I’m so happy to be her friend, and she’s remained as simple as she was when we were friends in Clairwood.”
Asked whether she had known that Pillay would lead the kind of life she has, Dolly said yes, without fail. From primary school, she said, Pillay had been confident and mature for her age.
The way she spoke, Dolly recalled, she could address an assembly.
“It’s the biggest honour anybody can get, so I’m very, very, very proud of her, and very proud that our roots were in Clairwood, and we share the same love for each other,” Dolly said.
“Every time, whether she was in Arusha, whether she was at The Hague, wherever she was, we followed her, we wrote messages to her, and we’ve kept our friendship.
“Up till the day my sister (Savi) died, they were bosom friends. Australia and South Africa didn’t separate them, and they just remained.”
Judge Thumba Pillay says Nobel honour is well deserved
Dolly’s husband, Judge Thumba Pillay, 91, said the award was well deserved.
He said he and Navi had attended university together, so he knew her quite well, although he had aged considerably since then.
“My memory is a bit suspect, but we were very close associates at university, although she didn’t belong to the ANC as I did. She was part of the Unity Movement at that stage, in our university years, going back to maybe 60 years ago,” Thumba said.