Navi Pillay Awarded 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for Lifelong Fight for Human Rights

[Anchor]

Marking its 125th anniversary this year, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay of South Africa. She was recognized for her lifelong dedication to defending human rights and the rule of law in the international community, starting as a lawyer fighting against apartheid.

Paris Correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports.

[Reporter]

The Nobel Committee selected 85-year-old jurist and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay as this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

[Jørgen Watne Frydnes / Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee: The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Navi Pillay!]

The committee explained its decision by stating that Pillay has played a decisive role in prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide.

[Jørgen Watne Frydnes / Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee: This year's laureate has played a key role in ensuring that prosecutions are carried out for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.]

Born into a South African family of Indian immigrant descent, Pillay began her career as a lawyer fighting racial segregation, notably defending Nelson Mandela.

Becoming the first non-white female judge on the High Court of South Africa, Pillay later expanded her arena of activity to the international stage.

As a judge on the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, she established the legal precedent allowing mass sexual violence against women during the 1994 Rwandan civil war to be prosecuted as a war crime.

Starting in 2008, she served a six-year term as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, playing a role in the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK.

More recently, serving as a UN inquiry chair, she defined and condemned Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip as genocide.

[Navi Pillay / Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (Last year): The ongoing genocide in Gaza is morally unacceptable. An urgent legal response is required.]

South Korean citizens who protected democracy against the December 3 emergency martial law were also nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but it did not lead to an award. Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump, who had claimed he was qualified for the prize, was not called either.

The 107th Nobel Peace Prize ceremony will take place on December 10 in Oslo, Norway.

(Video Editing: Jeong Yong-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.