What we covered
• The Nobel Peace Prize went to human rights pioneer Navi Pillay. The South African was integral to the anti-apartheid movement, served as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and recently led the UN commission that concluded Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
• The Nobel committee said Pillay “held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to the victims of violence and conflict.” Pillay was at an event at the courts that hosted the Nuremberg Trials 80 years ago when she learned of her win, and asked, “is it true?” when she heard the news.
• In an impromptu speech acknowledging the accolade, Pillay said she initially thought “it must be a joke.” Later, she spoke of her “deep honor” and dedicated the prize to “all of the survivors of international crimes.”
Updates
(35)Our live coverage of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has ended. Read our full report here or read the posts below as the announcement happened.
UN chief and other leaders congratulate Pillay on peace prize
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Navi Pillay on the Nobel Peace Prize, calling her “a steadfast, independent voice of justice amidst some of the most historic international legal cases of our time.”
Guterres cited her work in South Africa defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid, her role as president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, her tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and her work chairing the UN inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“Today’s prize is a tribute to all those working to uphold and defend international law, the rule of law and human rights, and secure peace, justice and human dignity,” the UN secretary-general added.
Other UN and world leaders have also congratulated the 2026 Nobel peace laureate:
- UN Human Rights commissioner: “Warmest congratulations to my dear friend and former UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay on the Nobel Peace Prize. She has shown what courage, integrity and an unwavering belief in human rights and the law can achieve,” the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. “Thank you, Navi, for inspiring us all.”
- EU Commission president: “Few have devoted their lives to justice, peace and human dignity like she did,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “She has looked the brutality of injustice in the eye and never looked away… In a world that needs justice more than ever, her courage and moral clarity are a precious compass.”
- South African president: Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement: “Justice Pillay’s crowning as winner of the Nobel Prize allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally.”
- Nelson Mandela Foundation: The nonprofit founded by the former president of South Africa also congratulated Pillay, saying that her recognition is a significant moment “for the broader struggle for justice and human dignity. Her lifelong commitment to these principles reflects the values Nelson Mandela championed and the work that remains necessary to realise a more just world.”
US sanctions the International Criminal Court, hours after former judge wins Nobel Peace Prize
The United States on Friday issued further sanctions against the International Criminal Court, just hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The ICC issued a statement condemning the sanctions and saying that the court’s activities will continue with “resilience.”
The US and ICC have long been at odds, with Washington previously slamming the international court for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. During the first Trump administration, the US was angered by the court’s authorization of an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by US armed forces and the CIA – an inquiry the court has since closed.
The US is not a member of the ICC and has challenged the court’s jurisdiction over its actions in relation to Israel.
The court, which was established in The Hague in 2002 to have international jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, has 125 treaty members, which are known as “States Parties.” Apart from the US and Turkey, all NATO member states are also ICC parties.
“Our message is clear: the United States and its people are not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC,” Rubio said in the statement. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court.”
Rubio added that the US sanctions have been structured to give the ICC and members states an opportunity to “negotiate and present a solution to address our concerns.” The State Department did not provide further details on the nature of the sanctions.
CNN’s Jo Shelley contributed to this report.
"I don’t believe it until I hear it from you,” Pillay tells Nobel director
Navi Pillay couldn’t believe she had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, telling the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute on a call after the announcement: “I don’t believe it until I hear it from you.”
Her first reaction on the call was one of disbelief. “I mean, what is it? This is the most exciting news,” she told Nobel director Kristian Berg Harpviken in a video shared on X. “I’m deeply grateful for that acknowledgement.”
“Particularly in the climate of the ICC being under threat,” she added.
The Nobel laureate said she’s “grateful” and “overwhelmed,” noting that she first received news of the award while attending the Nuremberg Forum conference, inside the courtroom that’s considered the symbolic birthplace of international law. Pillay said she initially told the conference director, “I don’t believe this… but then pretty soon, everybody heard.”
Why Alfred Nobel created the peace prize
More than 1,000 people and organizations have been recipients of the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel between 1901 and 2026. But we don’t actually know why Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel wanted to leave much of his vast fortune to the endeavor.
While he never publicly explained his decision, his will stated that the funds should be used to award annual prizes to those who “have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind,” according to the Nobel Prize website.
It stated that the peace prize should go “to the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.”
But there is one famous theory, which former US Vice President Al Gore referenced when he won the Peace Prize in 2007.
It goes something like this: In 1888, eight years before Nobel’s death, his brother Ludwig died. But the newspapers confused Nobel with his brother, and one titled its obituary “The Merchant of Death is Dead,” in reference to his invention of dynamite. As Gore put it, “shaken by this condemnation, the inventor made a fateful choice to serve the cause of peace,” and avoid any such obituaries when he actually died.
It’s a good story, but there is no conclusive evidence that this happened, and the Nobel Prize’s website doesn’t reference the incident.
Whatever his motivations, Nobel’s decision to use his private fortune – then one of the world’s largest – to create these prizes prompted huge controversy. His family opposed the will and the resulting battle meant it was five years before his executors convinced the disgruntled parties to honor the late industrialist’s wishes, according to the Nobel Peace Prize website. The first Nobels were finally awarded in 1901.
Who won the other Nobel Prizes this week?
It’s been a busy week for the Nobel Prize committees, with the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday giving the Nobel Peace Prize to international jurist Navi Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.”
Here’s a recap of the other Nobel prizes awarded earlier this week:
- Literature: Anne Carson, “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” Carson, 76, is an accomplished Canadian writer and academic whose work blends verse, prose and essay with influences from classical myths.
- Physiology or Medicine: Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” The three scientists are working to develop a technique to decode the inner workings of the brain. Deisseroth, a professor at Stanford University, went viral for his family’s heartwarming reaction to the news of his award.
- Chemistry: Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai, “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.” The work of the French and Japanese chemists has solved one of the field’s enduring mysteries and advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing, the award committee said.
- Physics: Francis Halzen, “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” The pioneering Belgian astrophysicist has worked to develop a massive observatory in Antarctica to detect “ghostly” cosmic particles that laid the foundations for an “entirely new type of astronomy.”
Navi Pillay dedicates her Nobel Peace Prize to survivors of international crimes
Navi Pillay dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to “all of the survivors of international crimes” and those defending international criminal justice, “whose compassion and courage continue to ensure that impunity will not be allowed to reign.”
Speaking at the International Nuremberg Principle Academy, Pillay said she was in the historic Courtroom 600, where the Nuremberg trials were held, when she learned she had won the award.
“We are living through an era when international law and human rights are under significant political attack,” she said, pointing in particular to attacks on the International Criminal Court.
Such efforts, she added, “endanger the progress painstakingly made since Nuremberg, and they risk returning us to a world in which power, rather than law, determines whose suffering matters.”
The 85-year-old jurist described the prize as a “wonderful surprise” and “the highest and best honor” she had received.
“This award strengthens my conviction that we must stand together in defense of the rule of law in defense of independent courts.”
"You inspire us all," says Pillay's alma mater in South Africa
The University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa – where Navi Pillay obtained her bachelors degree and a Bachelor of Laws – said it is proudly celebrating the alumna on Friday.
The university praised Pillay for her “lifetime of courage, justice and standing up for human dignity.”
At the time Pillay attended in the 1960s, South Africa was under apartheid and she was enrolled in classes for nonwhite students. It was at the University of Natal library where Pillay first came across transcripts of the Nuremberg Trials and became transfixed with the idea of countries coming together to pursue criminal justice, according to a 2006 profile of her published in the Harvard Law Bulletin.
Pillay also holds a Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) from Harvard.
Earlier in her career, the Nobel laureate worked as a lecturer at KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Law, where her colleagues established the “Navi Pillay Research Group” to advance human rights and social justice research and advocacy. The research group conducts work on children’s rights, gender-based violence, hate crimes, prosecution of apartheid-era crimes and more.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Israel's foreign ministry criticizes Pillay's win as "grotesque"
Israel’s foreign ministry has roundly condemned the decision to award Navi Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize - hitting out at the fact she chaired a UN commission which concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Awarding Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t a recognition of justice,” the foreign ministry posted in a scathing critique on X. “It’s the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.”
The ministry claimed that the prize “rewarded the biggest lie of the 21st century.”
Published in September 2025, the UN commission’s 72-page report concluded that Israel had “committed four genocidal acts” in Gaza since October 7, 2023 - when Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on communities close to the Palestinian enclave.
These acts include the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, causing Palestinians “serious bodily and mental harm,” “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” and “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group,” according to the report.
The report also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials of incitement to genocide.
Israel has always vehemently rejected accusations of genocide.
Later Friday, Netanyahu denounced Pillay’s win and criticized the Nobel Prize committee, saying it had “lost its moral compass.”
CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed to this post, which has been updated with additional reporting.
South African President Ramaphosa praises Pillay’s Nobel win
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Navi Pillay on winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on peace, justice and international law.
Ramaphosa said in a post on X: “Justice Pillay’s crowning as winner of the Nobel Prize allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally.”
“She has served humanity with principle and the belief that the world can and should be a better place,” he added.
Pillay began her career as an anti-apartheid lawyer before becoming a judge and later president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She also served on the International Criminal Court and served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ramaphosa said the award places Pillay alongside other South African Nobel Peace laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Albert Luthuli.
“The honour bestowed on her reminds us to build a society where every person, whatever their circumstances, can develop their abilities and contribute fully to our nation and the world,” he added.
Nobel committee “daring to be brave” with Pillay peace prize, expert says
Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay sends a message of support for international courts and judges facing pressure from political actors, said Haakon Gjerløw, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
Gjerløw described Pillay as a “very courageous” judge, pointing to her work on war crimes and genocide, and her willingness to stand up to powerful political actors.
The award comes amid increasing pressure on the international legal order, including the International Criminal Court, he said.
The Nobel committee’s commitment to peace may sometimes put it in “conflict or at least opposition to powerful political actors,” he added. “The committee should not shy away from those topics.”
According to Gjerløw, choosing an individual rather than an institution also sends an inspirational message, showing that people can work toward peace in their own capacities.
“Giving it to these individuals is a way of inspiring all of us that we can also in our individual lives work towards peace.”
"A collective win for human rights": First reactions to peace prize pouring in
As word spreads of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to prominent international jurist Navi Pillay, reactions are starting to come in from the United Nations and human rights organizations.
- UN human rights office: The spokesperson for the UN human rights office, Shabia Mantoo, told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland that their office was “elated to hear the news.” Mantoo said that Pillay has been “a staunch defender and advocate of human rights,” and it’s important to see the accolade being awarded to “those who are speaking out on violations.”
- UN human rights chief: Volker Türk, who is Pillay’s successor in the role of High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that her award was a “collective win for human rights, but also for seeking justice and accountability in this world.”
- International Criminal Court: The president of the ICC, Judge Tomoko Akane, said the 2026 peace prize presents an “important recognition of the vital role that international justice plays as a cornerstone of lasting peace.”
- Peace Research Institute Oslo: PRIO’s director said that Pillay’s peace prize “sends a clear message that peace depends not only on political leadership, but on strong, credible international institutions and the courageous people who dedicate their lives to defending them.”
- Amnesty International: The human rights organization described Pillay as a “great and inspired choice” for the peace award. Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard wrote that at a moment when “both international law and justice are under attack, when too many states attempt to hollow them out, her Nobel Peace Prize could not come at a better time.”
CNN’s Duarte Mendonca, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Issy Ronald and Kathryn Snowdon contributed to this report.
Pillay's win is likely to trigger backlash in Israel
The Nobel Committee’s decision to award its peace prize to Navi Pillay will inevitably be seen as the prestigious organization adding its weight to the idea that Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023, constitute genocide.
Pillay chaired a UN Commission that concluded in September 2025 that statements by Israeli political and military leaders, as well as the actions of Israel’s armed forces, showed clearly “that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
The commission’s report also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among a number of senior Israeli officials, of incitement to genocide. Israel has always vehemently rejected claims its war efforts amount to genocide but is widely seen as losing the argument among much of the international community.
While Western governments, including the United Kingdom, have shied away from using the term ‘genocide,’ it was still striking that Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband – who recently announced a package of sanctions against Israel for its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank – told his party’s conference last month, “I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you, you were right.”
Pillay, who once served on Rwandan genocide tribunal, "still haunted" victim testimonies
Navi Pillay served as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 1995 to 2003, of which she eventually became president.
The tribunal was created by a UN resolution in 1994 for the purpose of “prosecuting persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international law committed in the territory of Rwanda and Rwandese citizens responsible for genocide.”
In 1994, Hutu extremists in Rwanda targeted minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a three-month killing spree that left an estimated 800,000 people dead.
Some estimate the death toll of the Rwandan genocide to be even higher, with about 1 million people killed – 10% of the population of the central African nation. Millions more people were raped and disfigured, and a whole generation of children lost their parents, CNN previously reported.
“Soldiers, gendarmes, politicians, Interahamwe (Hutu paramilitary organization) and ordinary citizens were amongst the perpetrators,” according to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
In the years following, the international tribunal indicted 93 individuals whom it considered responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Rwanda. Among those, 62 were sentenced by the tribunal and 10 were referred to national jurisdictions for trial.
The UN-backed tribunal also established a unit for gender issues and assistance to victims of the genocide.
“We must reflect not only on the massive scale of the killings and other atrocities during those 100 days of genocide, but also on what led to the annihilation of social values, and law and order, which allowed genocide to occur,” Pillay said. “As well as examining why the horrific violations took place, we must continue to reflect on our collective failure to stop them.”
How Pillay reacted to her Nobel Peace Prize win: "Is it true?"
As her colleagues applauded and congratulated Navi Pillay for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, her first question was simply: “Is it true?”
“I thought it must be a joke,” she said. To which one of her colleagues replies, “No, it’s everywhere, it’s on the BBC.”
In a video posted on X by Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Pillay eventually gave an impromptu speech acknowledging her win. She was attending an event at the courts that hosted the Nuremberg Trials 80 years ago when she learned of her win.
“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” Pillay quipped.
Referencing the Nobel committee paying tribute to her “courage,” Pillay says: “You can imagine how surprised I was.”
“Why would you need courage to speak the truth? You interpret the law, you look at all the facts. So it’s impartial decision-making,” she said.
Navi Pillay, in her own words
In a CNN op-ed five years ago, Navi Pillay reflected on her life’s work, human rights in South Africa and the state of international law 75 years after the Nuremberg Trials laid its foundations.
“As a law student in 1963, I was intrigued by the Nuremberg cases I pored over in the library; they gave me a framework for understanding apartheid-era crimes, and how the law could tackle state-sponsored violence and inequality,” she wrote.
She wrote about her time as one of the first judges elected to serve on the International Criminal Court, the body established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“While the creation of the ICC itself was a remarkable achievement, and it has accomplished some notable successes, our work is still only beginning,” she wrote. “When I look around the world, I see the gap between our aspirations and the experiences of victims worldwide.”
“The path toward implementation of the Nuremberg principles is a symbol of humanity’s aspiration and progress toward justice. We are morally obliged to continue our collective work toward a more just and peaceful future on behalf of next generations.”
Nobel Committee warns of international law "being under attack"
Every Nobel Peace Prize carries a powerful message imbued with the prestige of this award.
With this year’s award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee “wants to remind the world that the rule of law, national and international, underpins the system we have set up peace and resolve conflicts non-violently,” said its chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes today.
That system of international law is “under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack,” Frydnes added.
He continued: “History has shown that a world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges – those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos – are therefore highly deserving of our praise.”
“But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are under attack, we need people of courage, vision and determination – qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench,” Frydnes added.
See the moment Navi Pillay is awarded this year's peace prize
A short while ago, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced Navi Pillay as the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. Watch the moment here:
Who is Navi Pillay, this year's peace prize winner?
Navi Pillay, 85, is a South African anti-apartheid lawyer turned international jurist who has “been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted,” the Nobel committee said.
She has served as a judge on the world’s most important courts of international law, including the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Court of Justice, as well as serving as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2008-2014.
Before turning to international law, she was integral to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, acting as a defense attorney for anti-apartheid activists and helping to secure rights for those imprisoned on Robben Island.
She was also the first Black woman to serve on the High Court in South Africa and became the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal, in South Africa.
"If you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up," Nobel Committee tells Pillay
The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, said in a news conference that they have not yet been able to reach winner Navi Pillay to notify her of the award.
“I would love to talk to you very soon,” he added.
Norway’s international dialing code is +47, in case any Nobel laureates are wondering.
