The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the South African legal pioneer Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for defending international law and institutions from attack in a world where “might overtakes right.”
Pillay, 85, defended Nelson Mandela and stood up against apartheid, sat on international courts for conflicts in Rwanda, Myanmar and the Palestinian territories, and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The award was intended to make a wider point about what the Norwegian Nobel Committee described as a global “shift towards power politics,” which was coming “at the expense of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice,” Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said.
By contrast, Pillay had “held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict,”
“Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time,” Frydnes said, adding that the committee had not yet been able to reach her for comment.
“Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law,” he said. “Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.”
Pillay was not among the pre-announcement frontrunners, who included Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of anti-Kremlin figure Alexei Navalny, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, and Mykola Kuleba, who founded an organization to rescue Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported by Russia.
President Donald Trump was among the 287 candidates, according to the leaders of Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia, which said they nominated him. But despite long coveting the award, Trump said this week he didn’t think he would win.
“I don’t know what their decision is going to be,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They have a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in January as she sought U.S. support for her efforts in Venezuela.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.