Navi Pillai. Photo: Collected
South African jurist Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillai has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contributions to international law and peacebuilding. The Nobel Committee called him personally before the award was announced, but he did not answer the phone. He later learned of the award from colleagues. However, the 85-year-old jurist could not believe it at first. RTE reports.
Pillai received the news from colleagues after the Nobel Committee tried to contact him but was unable to answer the phone. He still wanted to be sure whether the news was true or not. He said that as a lawyer and judge, it is his responsibility to verify the truth of any information.
At that time, someone standing next to him told him that the news of his Nobel Prize was also being broadcast on the BBC. So the news must be true. Through such a conversation, his immediate reaction after hearing the news of receiving the prize was captured.
Navi Pillay was at the Nuremberg trials when the Nobel Peace Prize was announced. Her first reaction was captured on camera by Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
Pillai can also be heard joking in the video, saying that if the audience congratulated him more, he would share his award with US President Donald Trump.
Navi Pillai jokingly poked Trump and said, “If you congratulate me more, maybe I’ll share the award with Trump.” Her comment made everyone laugh.
However, Pillai made it clear that he was skeptical about the veracity of the news of the award. “As a lawyer and a judge, I still want to verify the authenticity of this,” he said.
The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry, led by Navi Pillay, investigated Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report concluded that Israel committed genocide with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. Israel rejected the report after it was published last year.
In his first reaction, Pillai also spoke about the report on Gaza. He said, “The last thing I did was submit a report on Gaza. Where I mentioned that there was a genocide going on in Gaza. Many people praised my courage after reading that report. But I was surprised by this. Why would anyone be brave just to tell the truth?”
Navi Pillay, who has served as a judge on various international courts, including the International Criminal Court, and as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year in recognition of her long-standing role in establishing international law and justice.
Source: RTE