US President Donald Trump has suffered a big shock. This year’s prestigious Nobel Peace Prize has gone to Navanethem Pillay, a leading South African jurist of Indian origin. The prize recognises her tireless work to strengthen international law and protect human rights.
Pillay was born in Durban, South Africa, into a family of Indian Tamil origin. Under the apartheid regime, she witnessed colour-based inequality and social exclusion first-hand. She became a lawyer and argued in court on behalf of Nelson Mandela, the towering leader who spoke out against apartheid, and many other activists. Through her profession, she laid a firm foundation from the very beginning for the fight against oppression.
Pillay greatly expanded the reach and impact of international law. She served as a judge of the High Court of South Africa, and as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She played a key role in establishing that perpetrators of grave crimes against humanity will face punishment.
She then served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, holding governments to account for human rights violations around the world. Until recently, she also chaired the UN commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territories. She is currently a judge at the international court hearing the case on the alleged genocide in Myanmar.
Through her rulings, Pillay has shown that wars and violence can be halted through legal means. The honour has been given, it was stated, in recognition of her contribution to strengthening the international justice system and to legal action against war crimes.