South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. It is the fifth Nobel awarded this week, after literature, chemistry, physics, and medicine.
“A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. The committee added that it came at a time when “the system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack.”
