The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay of South Africa for her contributions to the fight against war crimes and genocide. Pillay at various times served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a judge at the International Criminal Court.
“In an era of existential challenges, when the world is experiencing more wars and armed conflicts than in many decades, international law no longer simply serves as an additional tool for maintaining peace and security. It has become an absolute necessity,” noted the Nobel Institute in Oslo.
“Through her participation in historic trials at the international level, Navi Pillay has demonstrated that legal mechanisms can prevent war and violence. She also contributed to strengthening the institutions of international law. “Thanks to her independence, professionalism and integrity, Pillay has become one of the most respected international lawyers of our time,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
Navy Pillay was born on September 23, 1941.
In 1967, she became the first non-white woman to open a law practice in Natal and subsequently became an ardent supporter of Nelson Mandela.
As a lawyer, she defended anti-apartheid activists and exposed cases of torture and government repression.
Past Trump again
This year, 287 individuals and organizations were nominated for the most prestigious award in the field of diplomacy and humanitarian work.
The names of the nominees have been kept secret for 50 years, so the public will not know for a long time whether the name of Donald Trump was on this list, who has been waiting for this award for many years, as he openly declares.
The US president insists he ended eight wars and deserves the prize more than anyone else.
“They have a reputation for maybe not giving bonuses to people like me. And I think it would greatly discredit them,” Trump said Wednesday. “And I don’t say this out of contempt.”
In Oslo, according to sources, the American president is not considered a suitable candidate because of his war against Iran, territorial claims, in particular on Greenland, harsh policies towards migrants, as well as attacks on multilateral international cooperation and the media.
Meanwhile, Trump still has a gold medal from the Nobel Committee. It was given to the president by last year's peace prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
She decided that after American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump deserved a reward. However, she failed to obtain political support from the White House in return.
Each Nobel Prize includes a diploma, a gold medal and a cash award of $1.2 million.
Past Laureates
In the past, four US presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Barack Obama (in 2009), Jimmy Carter (in 2002), Woodrow Wilson (in 1919) and Theodore Roosevelt (in 1906).
Except for Carter, they were all serving as president at the time the award was awarded, and Obama received the Peace Prize eight months after his inauguration, meaning he was in the same position as Trump is now.
According to the Nobel Committee, 338 candidates have been nominated for the 2025 Peace Prize, including 244 individuals and 94 organizations. This is a significant increase from last year, when there were 286 nominees. In 2016, a record 376 candidates were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Who has received the award in recent years:
2025: Maria Corina Machado (Venezuela)
2024: Organization for Nuclear Disarmament Nihon Hidankyo
2023: Nargiz Mohammadi (Iran)
2022: Ales Bialiatski (Belarus), human rights center “Memorial” (Russia) [*recognized by the Russian authorities as a foreign agent and liquidated], Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
2021: Dmitry Muratov (Russia), Maria Ressa (Philippines)
2020: UN World Food Program
2019: Abiy Ahmed Ali (Ethiopia)
2018: Denis Mukwege (Democratic Republic of Congo), Nadia Murad (Iraq)
2017: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
2016: Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia)
2015: Quartet of mediators in negotiations on national reconciliation (Tunisia)
2014: Kailash Satyarthi (India) and Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan)
What is the Nobel Peace Prize
The Peace Prize is the only one awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee rather than Sweden. Five people make the decision.
According to experts, since 1901, the Nobel Committee's approach to justifying the selection of Peace Prize laureates has changed significantly. While the promotion of peace was initially the main criterion, the protection of human rights subsequently became increasingly important. This trend intensified during the Cold War.
