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South African lawyer and international human rights advocate Navi Pillay (Navanethem Pillay) joked about US President Donald Trump’s claim to the Nobel Peace Prize while sharing her reaction to being named the 2026 laureate.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that, in a video posted on social media platform X by Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, Pillay said:
“If you clap a little louder, I might have to share this award with Donald Trump,” she said humorously.
Callamard said she and Pillay were in the building where the historic Nuremberg trials were held when they heard the news of the award. She described the location as a powerful symbol of the principle of justice.
The 85-year-old lawyer said she was pleased to receive the news of the prestigious Nobel Prize while surrounded by colleagues working in human rights. She recalled a report she prepared under the UN framework on the Gaza Strip, saying that it characterized events there in legal terms as genocide.
Pillay led the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory from July 2021 to 2025. In October 2025, when presenting the commission’s final findings to a UN General Assembly committee, she said an in-depth legal analysis had established Israel’s direct responsibility for acts committed in Gaza.
Speaking about the reactions to the report, Pillay said: “It should not take special courage to tell the truth. We are simply interpreting the law and relying on facts; this is entirely impartial justice.” She also said she would continue serving as an ad hoc judge in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice.
Navi Pillay was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her longstanding and exceptional service to upholding the rule of international law, protecting human rights and promoting peace.
Pakistan, Israel and Cambodia have said they nominated US President Donald Trump for the award in recognition of his role in mediating the settlement of various regional conflicts. Trump himself has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
