Indian origin Navanethem Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize 2026

STOCKHOLM: The Nobel Peace Prize 2026 has been awarded to Navanetham Navi Pillay. She is a famous jurist and international human rights activist from South Africa. She has served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights during the 2008–2014 period.

Pillay is a legal celebrity who has made her mark in the legal field by breaking barriers of racial and gender discrimination in South Africa and on the international stage. She took her BA and LLB degrees from the University of Natal, followed by an LLM degree from Harvard Law School and a doctorate in law in 1988. She has served as a judge at the High Court of South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court.

Born in Durban, South Africa, during the apartheid era, Navi Pillay is the granddaughter of a Tamil Nadu native who arrived in South Africa as a contract labourer. She presently serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice, which is hearing the Rohingya case against Myanmar. Pillay was selected from among 287 nominees. The prize carries an award of 12 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.2 million).