On 09 October 2026
Award recognizes a lifetime of courage in advancing international law — and arrives as that legal order faces its gravest test.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, South African jurist, pioneering human rights lawyer, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for her lifelong work to advance international law and ensure accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Her ruling at the Rwanda Tribunal, establishing rape and sexual violence as genocide and crimes against humanity, remains one of the most significant advances in international gender justice. She currently serves as a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
She is the 21st woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2011:
“We welcome you our Sister Laureate, 107 Laureate, 21st Female and 4th African woman”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated:
"At a time of existential challenges — including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time — international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity. And yet, the system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack."
“Accountability and justice make lasting peace possible — but we cannot separate this award from its moment. The courts, legal frameworks, and international norms Navi Pillay has spent her life building are under direct attack. As former chair of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, she documented atrocities, named those responsible, examined the root causes, and refused to look away. This prize is a call to defend the movements and institutions that make justice possible.” — Maria Butler, Executive Director, Nobel Women’s Initiative.
Roberta Clarke, Board Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative:
“International humanitarian and human rights law was built on a clear commitment: that the atrocities the world has witnessed would never go unanswered. Yet impunity undermines international rule of law and denies accountability for those atrocities. Gender justice and the rule of law are inseparable. States have due diligence obligations to prevent, investigate, and prosecute — obligations that exist on paper but are being hollowed out in practice. This prize is a call to the international community to honour those obligations and close the gap between commitment and action.”
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1997:
What a wonderful gift for South Africa — another Nobel Peace Laureate, and this time a woman! I am happy to send Navi Pillay congratulations from South Africa, where today I gave the annual Tutu Peace Lecture.
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003:
In 2009, without a prior appointment, I went to meet Ms. Navi Pillay, who was then the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She listened with compassion to what I had to say about the situation of the people of Iran — and not only did she stand up for the rights of the Iranian people during those days, but she continued to do so in the years that followed. When the Islamic Republic invited her to visit Iran, her response was unequivocal: ‘I am a lawyer myself. You must first release the imprisoned lawyers, and only then extend such an invitation to me.’ I have come to know her as a courageous jurist who does not fear speaking the truth or standing up to power in the defense of human rights and justice.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2022:
“Every day in Ukraine, we document crimes because we believe accountability is not optional — it is what separates a world with rules from a world where the powerful do as they please. Navi Pillay has proved that international courts can reach the perpetrators of the worst atrocities, and that survivors' testimony matters. When institutions are attacked, it is not only these institutions they are trying to silence - it is all of us who insist that impunity is not peace.”
Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2023:
My warmest congratulations to Navi Pillay on winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her lifetime dedication to international law, justice, and human rights. These are values we need to honor, respect, and teach to younger generations now more than ever, as the global fight against human rights violations becomes increasingly complex and takes on new forms.
Nobel Women's Initiative stands in solidarity with survivors of war crimes and human rights violations worldwide — in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Congo, Myanmar, and beyond — and with the international legal bodies working to deliver justice on their behalf. We call on all governments to uphold, fund, and respect the courts and commissions that form the backbone of the rules-based international order, and to immediately cease all efforts to intimidate, sanction, or delegitimize those who carry out that work. Accountability is how peace takes root.
Nobel Women's Initiative was founded in 2006 by women Nobel Peace Prize laureates to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel Prize to support and amplify the work of women's rights activists, researchers and organizations working for a sustainable peace with justice and equality.
Photo used in this statement was captured by: UN Photo/Mark Garten
END
Media Contact:
Bill Omondi
Nobel Women’s Initiative is led by nine women Nobel Prize laureates - Jody Williams (USA), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala), Narges Mohammadi (Iran), Maria Ressa (Philippines), Oleksandra Matviichuk (Ukraine) and Olga Tokarczuk (Poland). Nobel Women’s Initiative brings together women Nobel laureates united in action with courageous women leading peace around the world. Together, we leverage collective power to amplify non-violent solutions, defend justice and champion equality for all.