People
South African Navi Pillay's Nobel 'a tribute to courage, integrity'
Pillay, 85, is the fifth South African to receive the prestigious honour.
South African lawyer and champion of international law Navi Pillay addresses journalists after she was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, on October 9, 2026 at the historic Courtroom 600 of Nuremberg's Palace of Justice. (AFP)
By: AFP ., Journalist @New Vision
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to South African global rights defender Navi Pillay was a tribute to her courage and integrity.
Pillay, 85, is the fifth South African to receive the prestigious honour.
It is a "profound tribute to the veteran jurist's courage, integrity and lifelong commitment to justice", Ramaphosa said in a statement.
It "allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally," he said.
"She has served humanity with principle and the belief that the world can and should be a better place," Ramaphosa said.
It "allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally," he said.
"She has served humanity with principle and the belief that the world can and should be a better place," Ramaphosa said.
Pillay headed the Rwanda genocide tribunal and last year presided over a UN commission which accused Israel of genocide in Gaza
She was South Africa's first non-white woman High Court judge and in 1973 won the right for political prisoners on Robben Island –- where jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was held -– to have access to lawyers.
Other South Africans who have received the award are African National Congress (ANC) leader Albert Luthuli in 1960, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, and Mandela and the last apartheid-era president, FW de Klerk, in a joint nomination in 1993.
This made South Africa proud and highlighted "the far-reaching impact of South Africans on peace, justice and the advancement of humanity," Ramaphosa said.
She was South Africa's first non-white woman High Court judge and in 1973 won the right for political prisoners on Robben Island –- where jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was held -– to have access to lawyers.
Other South Africans who have received the award are African National Congress (ANC) leader Albert Luthuli in 1960, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, and Mandela and the last apartheid-era president, FW de Klerk, in a joint nomination in 1993.
This made South Africa proud and highlighted "the far-reaching impact of South Africans on peace, justice and the advancement of humanity," Ramaphosa said.