Nobel Peace Prize announcement imminent

Navanethem “Navi” Pillay in Johannesburg in 2023.Wikus De Wet / AFP via GettyShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 9, 2026, 4:48 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 9, 2026, 5:05 AM EDTBy Alexander SmithThe Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the South African legal pioneer Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for defending international law and institutions from attack in a world where “might overtakes right.”

Pillay, 85, defended Nelson Mandela and stood up against apartheid, sat on international courts for conflicts in Rwanda, Myanmar and the Palestinian territories, and served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The award was intended to make a wider point about what the Norwegian Nobel Committee described as a global “shift towards power politics,” which was coming “at the expense of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice,” Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said.

By contrast, Pillay had “held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict,”

“Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time,” Frydnes said, adding that the committee had not yet been able to reach her for comment.

“Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law,” he said. “Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world.”

Pillay was not among the pre-announcement frontrunners, who included Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of anti-Kremlin figure Alexei Navalny, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, and Mykola Kuleba, who founded an organization to rescue Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported by Russia.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in January as she sought U.S. support for her efforts in Venezuela.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAlexander SmithAlexander Smith is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital based in London.