Navi Pillay, Former Chair of UN Inquiry on Israel, Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay on October 9, citing her work promoting peace and international law. The committee credited her efforts to advance accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Pillay served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, chaired the UN commission of inquiry concerning Israel and the Palestinian territories. Israel challenged that commission’s impartiality in a February 2022 letter to Pillay, arguing that its mandate and composition reflected bias against Israel. That letter predates today’s award.