Navi Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize; US sanctions ICC hours later

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the 85-year-old South African jurist born to Indian Tamil parents in Durban, honouring her lifelong efforts to promote peace and international law. The committee said the system of international law is under tremendous pressure and its institutions under attack.

Pillay’s career runs from defending anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela, to serving as a judge on South Africa’s High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. She later chaired the UN commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, whose 2025 report concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

Hours after the announcement, the Trump administration unveiled sweeping sanctions on the ICC itself, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the US would ban transactions with what he called a “rogue court”. The court condemned the move as an assault on the rule of law, while the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK reaffirmed their support for it.

The prize, worth 12 million Swedish kronor, will be presented in Oslo on December 10. The committee said Pillay’s courage and integrity had enlarged the scope and impact of international law, making her one of the most respected jurists of our time.