The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Navi Pillay, the South African lawyer and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The announcement was made at 11am local time (10am BST) in Oslo, Norway, with more than 250 candidates nominated for the award.
Ms Pillay was recognised "for her efforts to promote peace and international law", according to the Nobel Committee. The prize marks its 125th anniversary this year.
A legal pioneer under apartheid
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.
In 1967, she became the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal. She later acted as a defense attorney for anti-apartheid activists, exposing torture and helping establish key rights for prisoners on Robben Island.
Recognition and history of the prize
The chairman of the Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, said: "Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career."
The peace prize has been awarded 106 times since 1901, with 112 individuals and 28 separate institutions recognised. The Red Cross has won three times and the UN refugee agency twice. Women have accounted for just 20 of the 112 individual laureates, though eight women have received the prize in the past 15 years.
Previous winners and candidates
Last year's winner was Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the prize for her "struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy".
According to the Nobel Prize website, the Norwegian Nobel Institute registered 287 candidates for this year's peace prize, of which 208 are individuals and 79 are organisations. The identities of nominees cannot be revealed until 50 years later. Last year's number of candidates was higher, with 244 individuals and 94 organisations nominated. In 2024, there were 286 nominees, while the highest number of nominees was in 2016, with 376 candidates.
