Growing up in Clairwood, Durban, Judge Navi Pillay learnt at six that her skin colour determined almost every aspect of her life.
In an exclusive interview with IOL from her offices at The Hague in the Netherlands, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the world's most respected jurists said she believes the injustice of apartheid remains central to her understanding of human rights.
“Every six-year-old child in South Africa under apartheid knew that they were being discriminated against on the grounds of colour,” she says.
“The swings were only for whites, and your parents would tell you, ‘You can't do this. You can't do that. You'll be charged.’”
The experience left an indelible impression. “We were all sensitive to the fact that we're being wronged. There's something unjust being done to us, but we had no means of remedies because the laws themselves were immoral.”
That understanding would shape a career spanning international courts, the United Nations and investigations into some of the gravest human rights violations of our time.
Xenophobia betrays constitutional values
The interview with Pillay ironically takes place against the backdrop of xenophobic violence and protests targeting migrants in Durban and other parts of the country. Pillay condemns the attacks on vulnerable people and is equally critical of the government's failure to anticipate the crisis.
“I have been saying, even as High Commissioner for Human Rights, that South Africa must create legal corridors for people to come in,” she says.
“There has to be border control, and there has to be the facilitation for the hungry refugees, people fleeing from violence, and people just wanting to seek out a better way of life,” says Pillay.
She argues that the Constitution protects everyone within South Africa's territory, not only citizens.
Pillay believes the violence requires proper investigation, warning against rumours and misinformation that can inflame tensions. “Get your facts right, then you'll get your policies right,” she says.
The Trump controversy, Gaza and what the award represents
Pillay has also found herself at the centre of public debate after US president Donald Trump’s meltdown following her win. His remarks, and negative commentary from the US and Israeli administrations, generated substantial attention.
Asked how she was coping with the reaction, Pillay said she does not follow social media and has relied on colleagues and staff to collect responses to the award. “Fortunately, I don't look at social media,” she says.
She acknowledges that criticism was to be expected, particularly given the award's apparent association with criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.
“There must be negative reactions to the award, especially since it appears to be critical of Israel and its activities in Gaza, but I'm not seeing that, fortunately.”
Pillay has received supportive messages from colleagues and former staff, while the public controversy surrounding Trump has threatened to distract from the significance of the recognition.
“I know that people zeroed in on that issue of President Trump wanting this award, and really it's unfair to drag me into that, and people making comparisons. I didn't ask for this award, and I'm very pleased that the committee identified why they're giving it to me.”
She sees the recognition as extending beyond her own career to the principles South Africa has sought to defend internationally. “Our country also is suffering from unfair trade tariffs because of principled positions the government has adopted internationally.”
For Pillay, the broader issue is whether countries and institutions remain committed to human rights and the rule of law when those principles become politically inconvenient.
Her heroes are witnesses who speak out
For someone whose career has placed her alongside some of the world's most prominent political and legal figures, Pillay's choice of heroes is revealing. She speaks about ordinary people who come forward to testify about atrocities, often at considerable personal cost and with little prospect of recognition or reward.
“There are many. You know, of course I could easily say Nelson Mandela,” she says. “But to me the heroes are those witnesses who come forward, you know. They get nothing. No rewards, no trophies.”
She describes how witnesses return to their communities after recounting some of the most traumatic experiences imaginable. “They go back to their mud huts in Rwanda and these various places.”
Their testimony is especially important in cases involving sexual violence, where survivors may struggle to speak publicly about what has happened to them. “We all know if courageous witnesses don't come forward and testify to the terrible things that happened to them, especially sexual violence, it's very difficult for women to talk about what happened to them in these conflicts. But they're doing so for the bigger goal of justice,” she says.
For Pillay, their courage is a reminder that international justice depends not only on judges, prosecutors and legal institutions, but also on individuals prepared to tell the truth about what they have endured.
“Ordinary people who continue the struggle. They are models for us to do whatever we can to do our own best efforts as well. Their willingness to speak, despite fear and suffering, is what makes the pursuit of justice possible,” says Pillay.
Clairwood's contribution will never be forgotten
Despite her international responsibilities, Pillay says her home remains Durban.
“I live in South Africa. I just come out here (The Hague) to do the work when I'm required.”
She has never forgotten the people of Clairwood.
“I have never forgotten that these were all poor people and they helped me to get to university,” says Pillay.
After qualifying as a lawyer, she took a year to earn enough to repay the donation, allowing the community to assist another student.
Now she intends to consult others on how to use her Nobel award money to help people in need.
“With this award, I will be consulting very many people on how best to use the money to help others.”
A responsibility to Africa
Pillay recalls serving as a judge on the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, where children would follow her shouting “Mandela! Bafana Bafana!”
“They saw me as a representative of South Africa,” she says.
The experience fuelled her belief that South Africa's democratic journey carries responsibilities way beyond its borders.
“We owe it to the rest of Africa, since we are better off than them materially, to do our best to help them.”
Her appeal is particularly poignant amid the current political climate at home.
“That's what they look to us, to take the moral high ground and be helpful and kind, especially to people from other parts of Africa.”
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