Navi Pillay dedicates Nobel Peace Prize to survivors of international crimes

South African judge and human rights lawyer Navi Pillay has dedicated the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to survivors of international crime, practitioners and defenders of international justice.

Pillay responded to the award while attending a conference on international law and human rights in Nuremberg, Germany. She was speaking at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, in Courtroom 600, where the post-World War II Nuremberg trials took place.

The 85-year-old judge said she learned about the prize only after the Nobel committee announced the decision because it had been unable to reach her. Her first reaction, delivered with humour, was: “It must be a joke.”

Addressing those gathered at the venue, Pillay said the applause mattered because recipients should know that the public believes they deserve recognition. She later joked: “If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump.”

Award linked to international justice

Pillay said she was pleased to receive the honour among colleagues and friends who support human rights. She referred to her recent work delivering a report on Gaza that described the situation there as genocide.

She is currently working on an International Court of Justice case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide. Pillay is also a former judge of the International Criminal Court.

In her remarks, she urged people to stand together in defence of the rule of law, independent courts and an international legal order based on principle. She said she hoped the award would remind world leaders of their legal obligation to uphold human rights.

“This worsening reality is particularly visible with the attacks on the International Criminal Court (ICC),” Pillay said, warning that political attacks on international law could lead to a situation in which “power rather than law determines whose suffering matters.”

Reported pressure on the ICC

Reuters, as cited in the source report, reported that US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday. The report said the development came hours after Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The report did not provide further details of the reported sanctions, and the claim was attributed to Reuters rather than independently verified.

Pillay’s award comes as she continues to work on cases and issues involving international criminal law, human rights and accountability. In dedicating the prize to survivors and those defending international justice, she placed the recognition within the wider struggle to preserve legal institutions and protections for victims of international crimes.