The South African lawyer Navi Pillay has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace and international law. She has an extensive track record in the legal field, but has also faced strong criticism for her role in the UN’s investigation into Israel.
Pillay has served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a judge at the International Criminal Court and President of the Rwanda Tribunal. She was one of the judges behind the historic Akayesu judgement in 1998, which established that rape can constitute genocide.
Accused of bias against Israel
In recent years, Pillay has been particularly controversial as head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Israel and the Palestinian territories. Israel refused to cooperate with the commission and accused it of being biased. Several Jewish organisations have also questioned the impartiality of the commission’s members.
In 2022, commission member Miloon Kothari provoked strong reactions with statements about the influence of ‘the Jewish lobby’ on social media. He also questioned Israel’s membership of the UN. Pillay defended him, claiming that the remarks had been taken out of context. Kothari later apologised for his comments.
Concluded that genocide had taken place in Gaza
In September 2025, the commission, under Pillay’s leadership, concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the report as false and politically motivated. The conclusion came from a commission of inquiry and was not a ruling by an international court.
The commission also concluded that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes during the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, including murder, torture and the taking of hostages.
