Indian-origin South African jurist Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2026. Navanethem (Navi) Pillay was born in South Africa on September 23 1941 to Indian parents of Tamil descent. As a poor Indian South African growing up under apartheid, she faced intersectional layers of hardships and discrimination. She served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

The Nobel Committee said that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law”. “A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time,” the committee said in its statement.

The committee further said Pillay has 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. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law. 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,” the statement read.

“When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape and sexual violence could constitute a crime against humanity – as well as genocide – her influence was a significant factor. In the same case, Ms Pillay was instrumental in a separate legal breakthrough: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda,” the statement read.

Pillay is currently a judge on the International Court of Justice in a case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.

Nobel 2026: five announced, one to come Where the prizes stand on Friday, October 9.

Economics Mon 12 Oct 3:15 pm IST Physiology or Medicine Karl Deisseroth Stanford University, US Peter Hegemann Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany Georg Nagel University of Würzburg, Germany for “discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics” In short Switching individual nerve cells in a living brain on and off with light.

Physics Francis Halzen University of Wisconsin–Madison, US“for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin” In short Using a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice to catch high-energy neutrinos from space.

Chemistry Henri B. Kagan Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France Kenso Soai Tokyo University of Science, Japan“for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis” In short A century-old puzzle: how molecules of just one mirror-image form can emerge spontaneously.

Literature Anne Carson Canada“for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature” In short A poet, essayist and translator who draws on ancient Greek and Roman literature in works that blend poetry, essay and fiction.

Peace Navi Pillay South Africa“for her efforts to promote peace and international law” In short A South African jurist who came out of the anti-apartheid struggle, served as a judge on the Rwanda war crimes tribunal and later led the UN’s human rights office.

The Economics time is converted from CEST and is the earliest it will be announced. Economics is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.