Justice for war crimes victims: Navi Pillay awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Фото: @NobelPrize / Х
The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to South African lawyer Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, who defended opponents of apartheid, worked in international judicial institutions and headed the UN’s human rights division. The committee noted her contribution to the development of international law and the prosecution of those responsible for serious crimes.
The decision was announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday, October 9.
The committee stressed that Pillay had played an important role in the development of the international justice system. It also noted her principled character, personal integrity and courage in the face of political pressure on judges and institutions of international law.
“The ability to resolve conflicts without force or violence depends on the international rule of law,” the committee said in its statement. The committee stressed that a system that ensures accountability for war crimes and justice for victims of abuses is a necessary condition for peace.
Pillay was born on September 23, 1941, in South Africa to a Tamil family. In 1967, she opened her own law practice in Natal Province, becoming the first black woman lawyer in the region. At that time, the country was living under the apartheid system, which entrenched racial discrimination. Pillay defended activists who opposed the regime and drew attention to torture and repression by the authorities.
In 1995, Pillay became the first black woman to sit on the High Court of South Africa. Four years later, she was appointed as a judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and from 1999 to 2003, she was its president.
During her time at the tribunal, Pillay helped shape jurisprudence that recognized sexual violence and rape as acts that, under certain circumstances, could constitute crimes against humanity and genocide, a significant step forward in the international prosecution of sexual violence crimes in armed conflict.
She later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court and served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. From 2021 to 2025, Pillay headed the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In 2019, she was also appointed as a special ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in the case concerning Myanmar’s allegations of genocide.
The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony will take place on December 10, 2026, at Oslo City Hall.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to French chemist Henri Kagan of the University of Paris-Sud and Japanese scientist Kenso Soai of the Tokyo University of Science for their discoveries of nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.
As reported, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to physicist Francis Galzen . He was recognized for his key contributions to the creation of the IceCube neutrino observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
Previously, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel. The scientists were recognized for the discovery of light-gated ion channels and the development of optogenetics.
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