Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Navi Pillay International justice Statement On : October 09th 2026 France welcomes the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay. A figure in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, she distinguished herself as a lawyer for human rights defenders. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, Navi Pillay embodies the fight for equality and respect for fundamental rights. This Nobel prize also recognizes her commitment to international criminal justice, symbolized by her career as a judge at South Africa’s High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), of which she was President from 1999 to 2003, and the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2008.