Who Is Navanetham 'Navi' Pillay, Winner Of Nobel Peace Prize 2026?

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Navanetham "Navi" Pillay, an Indian Tamil-origin woman born under apartheid in South Africa's Durban, grew to be a defence attorney for Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid activists. In 2026, she has now grabbed the Nobel Peace Prize for her "efforts to promote peace and international law."

She came from humble beginnings, and the background she grew up in shaped her contributions to ideas of equality and justice. She confronted segregation and exclusion in the field, and later took that to official institutions.

Recommended For You

Pillay was the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal in 1967; she helped expose torture, fight apartheid, and establish rights for prisoners on Robben Island, where hundreds of black men opposing apartheid were sent.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

After apartheid ended in 1994, Pillay did not end her efforts. The world wasn't perfect, and she laboured on. In 1995, she was appointed acting judge on the South African High Court, and elected by the UN General Assembly to be a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she served a total of eight years, the last four (1999-2003) as President, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In 2003, she was appointed as a judge on the International Criminal Court in the Hague, where she served on the Appeals Chamber until August 2008.

From its establishment in 2021 till 2025, Pillay chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Under Pillay, the commission found that“Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza.”

"It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention. The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons," said Pillay, according to OHCHR.

Pillay has always been one for using the world's legal instruments to advance justice. The Nobel Committee said it "wants to remind the world that the rule of law underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts non-violently. Peace requires justice."

The judges, those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos, are therefore therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are attacked, we need people of courage, vision and determination - qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench.

Norwegian Nobel Committee

When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape and sexual violence could constitute a "crime against humanity", as well as genocide, her influence was a significant factor, the committee noted.

At her home, she advanced women's rights and the rights of other downtrodden sections of society by contributing to a clause in the Constitution - the equality clause - which prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, gender, religion and sexual orientation.

She co-founded Equality Now, an international women's rights organisation, and has been involved with other organisations working on issues relating to children, detainees, victims of torture and of domestic violence, and a range of economic, social and cultural rights.

Dubbing her "one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time," the Nobel Committee said Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict.

ALSO READ

Indian-origin Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize 2026 Nobel Peace Prize explained: Who could win and how is the winner chosen?

MENAFN09102026000049011007ID1111783371