Apartheid champion Navi Pillay is this year’s Nobel Peace prize winner

South African jurist of Indian origin Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a former UN human rights chief whose work helped shape international law on genocide and sexual violence, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

Pillay’s remarkable journey began in the dusty streets of Durban, South Africa, under the oppressive system of apartheid. Born to Tamil parents on September 23, 1941, Pillay grew up in a family where education was highly valued despite financial struggles. Her father worked as a bus driver and took on multiple jobs, while her mother raised eight children. Her parents believed strongly that their daughters deserved just as much education as their sons—a belief that would shape Pillay’s extraordinary path.

As a young law student at the University of Natal, Pillay stumbled upon transcripts from the Nuremberg trials—a series of landmark prosecutions of Nazi war criminals after World War II. These documents ignited her passion, inspiring her with the ideal that the world could hold even the most powerful individuals to account for grave crimes.

In 1967, Pillay broke barriers by becoming the first woman of colour to open a law practice in South Africa’s Natal Province. Throughout the brutal apartheid years, she defended political detainees and anti-apartheid activists, boldly challenging practices such as torture and solitary confinement. Her efforts included helping political prisoners gain the right to legal counsel.

After apartheid officially ended, Pillay’s trailblazing career took an international turn. She became South Africa’s first woman of colour appointed as an acting judge on the high court, and soon after, in 1995, she was elected to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Her time at the ICTR proved groundbreaking: she was a judge and later president of the tribunal that prosecuted those responsible for the horrific 1994 Rwandan genocide.

One of Pillay’s landmark achievements was her role in the trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former mayor convicted for genocide and crimes against humanity. This case set a historic precedent by recognising that rape and sexual violence could be acts of genocide—an angle largely ignored in previous war crime prosecutions. Pillay’s voice helped shape this groundbreaking legal understanding, profoundly influencing international human rights law.

Later, Pillay served as a judge at the International Criminal Court before being appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. She travelled the globe confronting human rights abuses—including a critical 2013 visit to Sri Lanka, where she raised alarms about increasing authoritarianism and the persecution of minorities.

Recently, Pillay chaired the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the situation in Palestinian territories. The commission concluded that severe human rights violations, including acts meeting the legal definition of genocide, had taken place—findings internationally controversial but testament to Pillay’s unflinching commitment to truth and justice.

She is also serving as a judge in a case at the International Court of Justice in which The Gambia has accused Myanmar of violating the Genocide Convention.

The Nobel Committee praised her dedication to upholding universal legal principles, holding governments accountable, and advancing justice—declaring that peace requires justice.

From a young woman inspired by transcripts in a university library to a global champion for human rights and legal accountability, Navi Pillay’s story is a reminder that justice is the foundation of a peaceful world. Her tireless work continues to inspire generations to hold power to account and fight injustice wherever it occurs.