Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize for work on international law

The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognised the South African jurist’s contribution to international justice. Political scientist Greg Simons said the decision could also be read as criticism of Donald Trump.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9. Its citation highlighted Pillay’s work to ensure accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. According to the laureate’s biography, she was born in Durban to a Tamil family, opened a law practice in 1967 and defended anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela.

Pillay was appointed to South Africa’s High Court in 1995. She later served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and took part in the case against Jean-Paul Akayesu. In 1998, the tribunal recognised that rape could constitute an act of genocide. From 2003 to 2008, Pillay was a judge at the International Criminal Court, and from 2008 to 2014 she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

From 2021 to 2025, she chaired the UN’s independent commission investigating events in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. In September 2025, the commission said there were grounds to conclude that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide. Israel disputes those findings.

Greg Simons, a professor at Daffodil International University, told Lenta.ru that the award was deserved and suggested the choice could be seen as a criticism of Trump’s approach to international law. That is the interviewee’s interpretation, not the Nobel Committee’s stated position: the committee said it recognised Pillay’s contribution to international justice.