Nobel Peace Laureate Navi Pillay Jokes About Sharing Prize with Trump, Dedicates It to Victims of International Crimes
NUREMBERG (International Desk): South African judge Navi Pillay, winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, joked about US President Donald Trump’s claim that he deserves the award, telling an audience that if they applauded a bit more, she could share it with him. The remark appeared in a video shared on X by Amnesty International…
NUREMBERG (International Desk): South African judge Navi Pillay, winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, joked about US President Donald Trump’s claim that he deserves the award, telling an audience that if they applauded a bit more, she could share it with him. The remark appeared in a video shared on X by Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
Callamard said she was with Pillay at the Nuremberg Trials site when the award was announced, writing that she could think of no one more deserving. Pillay said her last piece of work was presenting the report on Gaza, which described what is happening there as genocide.
Pillay chaired the UN’s independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory from July 2021 until her departure in 2025. Presenting its findings to a UN General Assembly committee in October 2025, she said its legal analysis established Israel’s responsibility for genocide in Gaza. The 85-year-old said she will remain an ad hoc judge in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar and continue supporting the Nuremberg Principles Academy.
On Friday, in the historic Nuremberg courtroom where Nazi leaders were tried after World War II, she dedicated the prize to all victims of international crimes at a press conference. She said international law and human rights are under significant political attack, and that political leaders have a legal duty to protect human rights and refrain from war.
According to the report, Pakistan, Israel and Cambodia have said they nominated Trump, citing his role in resolving various conflicts, while Trump has repeatedly said he believes he deserves the prize.
