The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday (9) in Oslo that the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize goes to South African jurist Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, 85, for her "efforts to promote peace and international law". According to Folha de S.Paulo, the committee said Pillay "held states and national leaders accountable for their actions, brought hope to victims of violence and conflict and demonstrated a firm moral compass throughout her long career".
Born in Durban to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay built her career under apartheid, South Africa's racial segregation regime. She was the first woman to open a law practice in Natal province, in 1967, defended Nelson Mandela and other opponents of the regime and, after segregation ended, became the first non-white woman appointed to the country's high court, according to BBC Brasil. Elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the court created to try those responsible for the 1994 genocide, in which some 800,000 people were killed in one hundred days, she served for eight years, four of them as president. Between 2008 and 2014 she was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the top UN official tracking abuses committed by governments.
For Brazil, the choice carries direct diplomatic weight. South Africa is a Brazilian partner in Brics and in Ibsa, the forum uniting India, Brazil and South Africa, and honoring Pillay gives new political weight to the report of the UN commission of inquiry she chaired: last September, the panel concluded that Israel had committed genocide in the Gaza Strip and accused senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of inciting those acts. Brasília has faced its own diplomatic friction with Israel during the war and has made the defense of international law a pillar of its foreign policy, a cause the prize is likely to strengthen in the multilateral forums where Brazil operates. Israel rejected the report, called the accusations false and labeled the commission members "Hamas representatives". Asked by the AFP news agency, the Nobel committee said it takes no position on whether Israel's military campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide.
Reactions and behind the scenes
Pillay had not been told of the award when the announcement was made, because the committee could not reach her, said the panel's chair, Jørgen Watne Frydnes. "If you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up," he joked. When she heard the news, the jurist reacted with humor: "It must be a joke." She then told the small crowd around her that, "as a lawyer and a judge," she still wanted to verify the information, and quipped that if the applause continued she might end up sharing the prize with Trump. Last year's winner, Venezuelan María Corina Machado, handed her medal to the US president in January.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Pillay "faced the brutality of injustice head-on and never looked away". Frydnes, in turn, warned that international law is under enormous pressure and that what he called "power politics" is gaining ground: "When force prevails over reason, it undermines stability."
Besides the gold medal, Pillay will receive 12 million Swedish kronor (about R$ 6 million, roughly US$ 1.1 million), BBC Brasil reported. At 85, the South African remains active: she currently serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice, the UN's top judicial body, in the case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide against the Rohingya minority.