Former United Nations (UN) human rights chief Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
The 85-year-old South Africa-born jurist was announced as the winner in Oslo on Friday by Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Announcing the award, Frydnes said that Pillay’s work “is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world”.
He added that the committee had not yet been able to contact Pillay to inform her of the award.
The committee said that the prize was intended to highlight the importance of international law at a time when armed conflicts are increasing and judges and legal institutions are facing political pressure.
“At a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising, 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 committee said in a news release.
“An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world.”
Earlier, the Norwegian Nobel Committee received 287 nominations for this year’s prize, slightly more than a quarter of which were organisations.
The award recognises contributions to peace, international cooperation and efforts to strengthen institutions that support those objectives.
Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the prize for her campaign for a democratic transition in Venezuela. The committee described her as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness”.
Machado later gave her Nobel medal to United States (US) President Donald Trump after the US ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. However, the gesture did not transfer the award itself, as the Nobel Committee has maintained that the honour cannot be transferred to another person.
