Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize; Trump Criticizes the Decision

Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize; Trump Criticizes the Decision

Times Square Global Live | International News

NEW YORK, October 10, 2026 — The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to South African lawyer and jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay. Announcing the decision on Friday, October 9, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award recognizes her efforts to promote peace and international law, as well as her role in advancing accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Born in Durban to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay began practicing law in the 1960s. She defended anti-apartheid activists and spoke out against torture and the isolation of political prisoners. In 1995, she became the first Black woman to serve on South Africa’s High Court in Natal.

Pillay served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 1995 to 2003, including as its president from 1999 to 2003. She later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2008 and as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. At the Rwanda tribunal, her work contributed to landmark legal recognition that rape and sexual violence could constitute crimes against humanity and genocide.

Pillay later chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In a report released in September 2025, the commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the report and denounced its findings.

On the day the prize was announced, President Donald Trump criticized the decision at a rally in Syracuse, New York. He said he should have received the award and faulted the Nobel Committee.

In January, 2025 Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado gave Trump her Nobel medal. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has said that a Nobel Prize cannot be transferred, shared or awarded to someone else; the gesture did not change the official laureate.

The Nobel Peace Prize recognizes work advancing fraternity among nations, disarmament and peace. Since 1901, its award ceremony has traditionally been held on December 10—the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death—in Oslo, Norway. Unlike the other Nobel Prize ceremonies, which take place in Stockholm, the Peace Prize ceremony is held in the Norwegian capital. The prize has not been awarded every year; it was withheld on 19 occasions.

Nobel Peace Prize nominations remain confidential for 50 years, and the committee does not publicly confirm the names of current nominees. Claims that Trump was nominated therefore cannot be verified through a public list. The 2026 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences is scheduled to be announced on October 12.