Navi Pillay, who accused Israel of genocide, wins Nobel Peace Prize
South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, who headed a United Nations commission that accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award in Oslo, citing Pillay’s decades-long work in international law and human rights.
The committee praised her “extraordinary courage and integrity” in helping advance a more comprehensive international legal order and said she had “played a central role in ensuring that issues such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are brought to justice.”
Pillay, 85, is a former U.N. high commissioner for human rights and has held senior positions in several international judicial bodies.
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Her selection is likely to draw particular attention in Israel because of her recent role as chairwoman of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including eastern Jerusalem, and Israel.
In September 2025, the commission issued a 72-page report concluding that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
BREAKING NEWS The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPeacePrize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/97vurspw6z
The report said there were “reasonable grounds” to conclude that four of the five acts defined as genocidal under the 1948 Genocide Convention had been committed since the Hamas massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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