Peace Prize

Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The South African jurist spent decades as a war-crimes judge.

She served on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and on the International Criminal Court, NPR reported. From 2008 to 2014, CNBC reported, she was UN high commissioner for human rights. Later she chaired the UN's independent commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territories, according to NPR.

Jorgen Watne Frydnes chairs the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He told CNBC that Pillay has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide get prosecuted. "Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict," the committee said in a statement carried by CNBC. "In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law."

Wars are rising. International courts face political attacks. Even so, the committee said, the ability to resolve conflicts without force depends on respect for the rule of law, according to NPR.

287 nominations of individuals and organizations came in for this year's prize, NPR reported. NBC News listed other frontrunners. Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny. Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate. Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms. Mykola Kuleba, who founded a group that rescues Ukrainian children deported by Russia.

President Donald Trump was also among the 287 nominees, after the leaders of Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia put his name forward, NBC News reported. Trump said this week he did not expect to win. "I don't know what their decision is going to be," he told reporters in the Oval Office, according to NBC News. "They have a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me."

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won last year's prize. In January she gave Trump her Nobel medal, seeking U.S. support for her efforts in Venezuela, CNBC and NBC News reported.

The prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million. First awarded in 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize marks its 125th anniversary this year, NPR reported.

In Oslo, Frydnes told reporters the committee had not yet reached Pillay by phone. "My message to her would be, if you see a Norwegian number calling, please pick up," he said, according to CNBC.