Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has won the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in recognition of her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Pillay, 85, a South African-born judge at the International Court of Justice, was announced as the winner on Friday by Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Born in Durban in 1941, Pillay grew up under apartheid and became one of South Africa’s first women of Indian descent to practise law. She defended anti-apartheid activists and challenged discriminatory prison conditions.
Following the end of apartheid, she served as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she helped establish landmark legal precedents recognising rape as an act of genocide.
She later served as a judge at the International Criminal Court before becoming UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position she held from 2008 to 2014.
More recently, Pillay chaired a UN commission investigating alleged human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The Nobel Peace Prize, widely regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious honours, marks its 125th anniversary this year.
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