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CNN International: Nobel Peace Prize Goes To South African Human Rights Pioneer Navi Pillay. Aired 5-5:23a ET
Aired October 09, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and a very warm welcome. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. We are right now following breaking news out of Oslo, Norway, where the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is about to be announced any moment now. The Nobel committee says 287 candidates have been nominated for the Peace Prize this year.
Of those, 208 are individuals and 79 are organizations. It adds that the values that underpin the prize, its commitment to peaceful dialogue, conflict resolution and international cooperation, are more important than ever. Any moment now, you will see someone step into that podium. Actually, they are stepping there right now.
This is Haakon Gjerlow, the acting director. Let's listen in.
HAAKON GJERLOW, ACTING DIRECTOR, PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OSLO: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a person who, with exceptional courage and integrity, has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order. This year's Laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career.
Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion.
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.
This year's Laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and until recently she chaired the U.N. Independent International Commission on of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Today, Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, her expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.
The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded 125 years ago. Already then, the Norwegian Nobel Committee underscored the importance of resolving conflicts through international law, a theme that has remained prominent throughout the history of the Peace Prize. The reach of international law expanded after the Second World War, in particularly with the creation of the U.N. institutions.
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The key insight was that lasting peace must be built on legal principles, not on the will of the strong or a fragile balance of power. Additional legal mechanisms were introduced in the post war decades and momentum picked up further after the end of the Cold War.
However, the rules based international order has never been perfect. The greatest power have often evaded responsibility. In practice, cases brought under international law have produced different results, depending on who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.
Nonetheless, we have seen that more and more conflicts are being addressed through diplomacy, treaties and legal mechanisms, rather than threats, violence and warfare. Leaders and populations alike have come to the same conclusion. International law is the foundation for a more peaceful world.
At a time of existential challenges, including more wars and conflicts than the world have seen in a long time. International law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity.
And yet the system of international law is under tremendous pressure and its institutions are under attack. We see a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and global respects for law and justice. Whenever might overtakes right, it undermines stability, trust and peaceful coexistence.
In awarding this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wants to remind the world that the rule of law, national and international, underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts nonviolently.
Peace requires justice. History has shown that the world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges, those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos, are therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned and their institutions are under attack, we need people of courage, vision and determination. Qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench.
Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to the victims of violence and conflict. In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law. She has also helped define the relevant norms and legal principles.
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 Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 springs directly from Alfred Nobel's will. Navi Pillay strengthens fraternity with between nations and by systematically advancing the use of tribunals for peace and justice.
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She provides substance, direction and motivation for peace conferences in their modern form.
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 those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chair, International cooperation, international institutions --
ABDELAZIZ: Navi Pillay there awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. She is a South African jurist and a former U.N. human rights chief. I want to go straight to Nada Bashir, who joins me now live here in London. There is a clear message being sent by this win, isn't there?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. A clear message with regards to respect and upholding the international order of rule of law. Her defense and work to defend and uphold the international rule of law has been a clear factor which underpinned the decision to award Dr. Navi Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
We've been hearing there the remarks from the Nobel Committee. Just looking at those remarks, it's quite clear that this has been the central focus amongst the dodging committee this year. I can read you just some of those remarks that we've been listening to over the last few minutes, saying that Navi Pillay has shown that legal measures can prevent acts of war and violence. She is one of the great defenders of international legal principles and has shown a commitment to justice and human dignity and is a source of hope and inspiration for all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.
And of course, as we heard there in those remarks, her long list of achievements within the judicial framework over the last few decades. Just looking through that now, we can see she has -- she was the judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She was named to serve as a judge on the International Criminal Court as well, a body which has in recent months come under significant pressure and even direct attacks from, for example, the Trump administration.
Dr. Navi Pillay also chaired the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 2021 to 2025 and has of course been a pinnacle figure in a lot of these bodies and within the legal framework.
And of course, as you mentioned, Salma, there was a very clear message being sent there. And typically around the Nobel Peace Prize, the awards do send a nod towards issues that are compelling many across the international community. And the, of course, issues around the International Criminal Court, for example, and the controversy surrounding that have been a huge talking point amongst world leaders over recent months and concerns, of course, that the influence, the power, the respect of international judicial bodies has been undermined by some world leaders and, of course, the pressures that come with that in the midst of a number of on ongoing conflicts and an increasingly polarized world. And that is certainly something that has been central, it appears, in the decision to award this year's Nobel peace prize to Dr. Navi Pillay.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much Nada Bashir there speaking to us about Navi Pillay, who is again the winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. She has three major struggles that have highlighted her career, from fighting apartheid to prosecuting genocide to holding those accountable for human abuses.
And as Nada pointed out there, the message here is clear. International institutions, international order, human rights law needs to be strengthened in the face of increasing attacks.
Joining us now here from London is Theo Zenou, a historian and journalist and a visiting fellow at Australian National University, Hakan Haakon Gjerlow -- if I may now, sorry, if I may now bring in Haakon Gjerlow, acting director, Peace Research Institute at Oslo. Forgive me for that.
Let's just begin with the winner here and just tell me why this win went to Navi Pillay and what she has done really to award to be awarded this honor.
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GJERLOW: Thank you, Salma. Happy to be here. I think this is a very good -- a good laureate. This is an excellent price. If there's one thing about the world, today we see more unilateral and bilateral bargaining. And this price highlights how a stable legal world order is good for people.
Mrs. Pillay has been part of both the ICC, the ICJ. She's been a very courageous judge, standing up against several, you know, important and powerful political actors, prosecuted war crimes, genocide. So I think this is a very good laureate.
ABDELAZIZ: Haakon, just speak to me again about her career and her accomplishments and the message that is being sent by the committee by choosing her. We heard there about the need to strengthen international order, about the need to defend human rights law in the face of brute force and brute power. What message does this send?
GJERLOW: I think it really sends the message of how important it is with a legal and stable world order. She has been part of many of the central legal processes that we know and institutions that we know. ICJ, the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court. She was part of the Rwanda tribunals. She's been in the High Court of South Africa working on apartheid.
So she's been part of many of the important judicial questions of our time. You know, most recently also, like you could -- you could see this also in light of South Africa's role in prosecuting potential crimes in the Gaza war. So there are many links here you can make into important topics of the day.
And I think the signal that they want to send with this is how important it is with international legal world order in order to provide the stability and stability that we need for peace.
ABDELAZIZ: And this obviously puts accountability at the very center of the peace process. It says that we must hold account. We heard there that there can be no peace without justice. The goal of this prize is, of course, not just the recognition, not just the money, but the support and the spotlight it can bring to institutions that are fighting for peace.
What do you think this can do to strengthen the international order and to strengthen the work of jurists like her moving forward?
GJERLOW: No, I think you're absolutely right. The Nobel Peace Prize, at its best, it's able to celebrate achievements, but also pointing towards future important work. And I think we've seen, you know, we've seen increased pressure against international legal world order. We've seen direct pressure against the International Criminal Court.
And I think showing our international support for these judges, for these institutions is a way to strengthen them, show them our support and fight back against powerful political actors that want to undermine an international legal world order. So I think absolutely, the price also points very much towards the future.
ABDELAZIZ: And she's had three major struggles that she has fought for in her career, from apartheid to holding those responsible for genocide accountable, to holding those responsible for human rights abuses accountable. But as you know, within those nominations, there's oftentimes organizations that may be selected. But to choose an individual jurist, to choose an individual name, what does that mean? What is the significance of that?
GJERLOW: I think, of course, nothing happens in a vacuum. She's been part of all of these institutions. But giving it to an individual is also a very good, inspirational choice, right. It shows to us that we as individuals might work towards peace in our different capacities.
She has a massive legal capacity, a massive knowledge on legal topics, and she's used that to the good for the world in the work for peace. And giving it to these individuals is a way of inspiring all of us that we can also, in our individual lives, work towards peace.
ABDELAZIZ: And Haakon, I do have to ask here about President Trump, and not just President Trump, but potentially this wider push against the international order, against human rights law, a push for brute force over these institutions that have bound Western society for decades now.
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What message is being sent to that side of the camp, if you will?
GJERLOW: I think in that way, I want to celebrate the committee for daring to be brave in this moment. It is big political actors that are pushing against some of these institutions, against some of the legal orders. But the committee should be unwaveringly committed to the work towards peace and be unwaveringly committed to Alfred Nobel's testament, his will. And sometimes that will get you in, let's say, conflict or at least opposition to powerful political actors.
And the committee should not shy away from those topics. And I think with this year's prize, from how I see it, they very much do not shy away from those topics and questions and struggles.
ABDELAZIZ: You talk about it as bravery. And I want to point out just one more thing about Navi Pillay's legacy, which is her work to bring the crimes against women specifically into the center of that prosecution for justice, that push for justice. Can you talk to us a little bit about how she has brought violence against women into the very heart of, of that pursuit?
GJERLOW: So I'm not a legal -- I'm not a legal expert. So on the legal point, I will -- I will not try to try to speculate too much on how she's able to do this, but I think as part of a -- part of what we've seen over the past -- over her career is exactly the fight for women's rights generally, as part of that general fight is also getting them into the legal framework and make sure that we as an international community can, can also enforce the agreements that we make when it comes to norms around gender, female rights.
And as such, you know, as such, the work of a legal person trying to defend international norms is similar across topics, is to make sure that once we agree about something internationally, agree about certain international norms, we need to enforce them and apply costs to those that try to break them. And I think that's something she has been very instrumental in doing.
ABDELAZIZ: Haakon Gjerlow there, the acting director of the Peace Research Institute on Oslo on the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Navi Pillay. As you said, a brave decision and one that sends a clear signal, a clear message to the world.
I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's get you back to CNN Headline Express.
GJERLOW: Thank you.
