By awarding the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay, the Norwegian Nobel committee has sought not only to restore its credibility, tarnished by controversial decisions in the recent past, but also to strengthen the voices defending international law. Ms. Pillay served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Born in Durban in 1941 to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Ms. Pillay grew up in apartheid South Africa, opened her own legal firm in the 1960s and defended anti-apartheid political prisoners and activists on the notorious Robben Island, including Nelson Mandela. Her contributions as a jurist have shaped international criminal law. In 1998, as a part of the Rwanda war crimes tribunal, she co-authored the judgment against Jean-Paul Akayesu, a local politician, recognising that rape and sexual violence constitute acts of genocide. Last year, the Palestine commission that she led concluded that Israel had committed acts of genocide in Gaza and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had “incited the commission of genocide” in their speeches and statements. Compared to Barack Obama, the 2009 winner who bombed Libya two years later, or Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 winner who supported Washington’s economic strangulation of Venezuela and its illegal strikes on boats in the Caribbean, Ms. Pillay has an untarnished record of standing up for the victims of international crimes.
Ms. Pillay has been honoured at a time when the world is witnessing conflicts, which have effectively jeopardised the law-based international order. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a challenge to the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Israel continues to bomb Gaza, Syria and Lebanon and tighten its occupation of Palestinian territories, with impunity. The U.S. under President Donald Trump — who believes he deserved a Nobel Prize — started a war on Iran on February 28 and killed its Supreme Leader, a flagrant violation of international law and norms. He has also launched a frontal attack on international institutions, including the ICC that has been placed under sanctions. What prevents the world from becoming a Hobbesian jungle where the mighty do as they please is the existence of international law and institutions that hold them accountable. The message of the 2026 Peace Prize is that the fight to strengthen those rules and institutions is part of the struggle for a more peaceful and accountable world.
Published - October 12, 2026 12:10 am IST