South African judge and human rights lawyer Navi Pillay has reportedly won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, dedicating the award to survivors of international crime and those working to uphold international justice.

Pillay learned of the announcement only after it was made because the Nobel committee had been unable to reach her, according to the report. She was attending a conference on international law and human rights at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy in Nuremberg, Germany.

Speaking in Courtroom 600, the site associated with the post-World War II Nuremberg trials, Pillay responded with surprise and humour. “It must be a joke,” she said.

She later told the audience that their reaction mattered to her, saying, “Firstly, at this venue, your applause means a great deal to me. You don’t want to receive an award, prize or anything unless the public agrees that you deserve this.”

Pillay also joked about sharing the prize with US President Donald Trump, saying, “If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump.” The comment appeared to refer to Maria Corina Machado’s decision to give her Nobel medal to Trump in an effort to gain support for her campaign for a democratic Venezuela, according to the report.

Call to defend international law

Pillay dedicated the reported award to “survivors of international crime, as well as to practitioners and defenders of international justice.” She called for people to stand together in support of the rule of law, independent courts and an international legal order based on principle.

“I think it’s very appropriate that I’m with friends and colleagues, all of whom support human rights. The last thing I did is the delivery of the report on Gaza, naming what’s happening there as genocide,” she said.

Pillay warned that growing political pressure against international law could undermine the principles designed to protect victims of serious abuses. She said the worsening situation was particularly visible in attacks against the International Criminal Court.

“This worsening reality is particularly visible with the attacks on the International Criminal Court (ICC),” Pillay said. She warned that such attacks risked creating a world where “power rather than law determines whose suffering matters.”

Reuters reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday. That claim was attributed to Reuters in the report.

Work on international cases

Pillay, 85, is described as a former judge of the International Criminal Court. She is also working on the International Court of Justice case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide.

She said she hoped the reported Nobel recognition would remind world leaders of their legal responsibility to uphold human rights. The report did not include independent confirmation from the Nobel committee.