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Navi Pillay

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Navi Pillay
Pillay in 2014
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
In office
1 September 2008 – 31 August 2014
Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon
Deputy
Preceded byLouise Arbour
Succeeded byZeid bin Ra'ad
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office
11 March 2003 – 31 August 2008
President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
In office
4 June 1999 – 26 May 2003
Preceded byLaïty Kama
Succeeded byErik Møse
Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
In office
25 May 1995 – 3 December 2003
Judge of the High Court of South Africa
In office
1995–1995
Appointed byNelson Mandela
Personal details
BornNavanethem Naidoo
(1941-09-23) 23 September 1941 (age 85)
Durban, Natal, South Africa
Spouse
Gaby Pillay
​
(m. 1965)​
Children2
Education
Awards
Nobel Peace Prize (2026)

Navanetham Pillay (née Naidoo, 23 September 1941) is a South African jurist who served as the high commissioner for human rights of the United Nations from 2008 to 2014. A South African of Tamil origin, Pillay was the first non-white female judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has also served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She is to be awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.

Pillay was born and raised in Durban, where she later attended the University of Natal, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 1963 and her Bachelor of Laws in 1965. After university, Pillay pursued a career as an attorney, joining the legal defence against apartheid. In 1967, Pillay started her own law firm and became the first woman to do so in her home province of Natal. In 1981, Pillay attended Harvard University and earned her Master of Law. In 1988, she completed her thesis and graduated from Harvard Law School with a Doctorate of Juridical Science.

Pillay was nominated and confirmed to the High Court of South Africa by the Judicial Service Commission under supervision of the bar association in 1995. In 1995, President Nelson Mandela and Justice Minister Dullah Omar nominated Pillay to the UN Security Council for a judgeship on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Between 1999 and 2003, Pillay served on the ICTR, and was elected President Judge. In 2003, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) elected her as a judge in the ICC, where she served as member of the Appeals Chamber until 2008. In 2008, with the approval of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Pillay the UN high commissioner for human rights.

She was also the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Pillay has been serving as an ad hoc judge on the International Court of Justice's Rohingya genocide case (The Gambia v. Myanmar) for crimes of genocide since 2019.

Early life and education

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Durban, South Africa, hometown of Navi Pillay

Pillay was born Navanethem Naidoo on 23 September 1941 in Durban, Province of Natal, Union of South Africa, to Narrainsamy and Santhama Naidoo. She is of Indian Tamil origin.[1][2][3] Her grandparents came from India as indentured servants to work on South African sugar plantations in Natal in the 1890s,[1] and her grandfather lost both arms in a workplace accident at the sugar mill.[4] Her parents had an arranged marriage during their early teens and had eight children, the fifth being Pillay.[5][6] Narrainsamy was a bus driver and took up other jobs such as fishing to supplement their income, while Santhama was a homemaker.[5][6] The two raised their family with strong Hindu values, emphasising equality between the men and women in the family.[5]

Pillay was raised in Clairwood, a poor and predominantly Indian suburb of Durban.[7][4] While most of Pillay's classmates during elementary school were married off, her parents insisted she and her two other sisters attend school like their brothers.[1] At the time, there were more children in South Africa than there were places in schools.[5][1] Insistent on ensuring education for all her children, Pillay's mother would wait in long admission lines, using the birth certificates of her older children to get her younger children into school.[5] She attended Clairwood High School, and was later patron of the alumni society of the school.[4] With limited money for school supplies, Santhama Pillay would stitch together notebooks for her younger children, using blank pages from the used notebooks of her elder children.[1]

In school, Pillay experienced an environment completely different from her home life, learning a new religion in a new language.[5] Despite their personal beliefs, teachers were strictly prohibited from addressing politics, including apartheid, out of fear that the school administration would retaliate.[5]

Pillay had her first encounter with the law when she was five years old and testified in court after being robbed of 5 South African Pounds.[8] Her mother had given her the money to give to her father, these were his wages for the month. The thief was convicted, but the court did not return the money to her father.[5]

Pillay received many accolades for her writing during her early childhood. When she was 10 years old, Pillay wrote an in-class essay on how black individuals received heavier sentences than their white counterparts in South African courts using information she had overheard from her parents and teachers, since she could not access radios or newspapers.[5] At age 14, Pillay submitted an essay on why South Africans should buy South African-made commerce to a competition held by the Durban Chamber of Commerce, and received a bronze medal for her work.[5] At 15, Pillay published an essay on the role of women in instilling values in children, which earned her an award of books from the Jewish Women's Union.[5]

Supported by donations from the local Indian community, she graduated from the University of Natal with a BA in 1963 and an LLB in 1965.[5][4] She was sponsored by the citizens of Clairwood, the Durban City Council, and a scholarship from the university.[5] During her years at the University of Natal, the campus was extremely politically active.[5] Most classes and graduations were segregated which infuriated many students on campus.[5] Under apartheid, Pillay was forced to share what limited resources they were given amongst all non-white students at the university.[5] She once had to share a required textbook in a non-white library with 20 of her other non-white classmates.[5] In 1959, South Africa passed the Separate Universities Act which forced previously de-segregated universities to re-segregate.[5] As a result, Pillay was forced to transfer to the nearest non-white university, the University College for Indians at Salisbury Island, after her first year of university.[5] While the University of Natal offered an LLB program, University at Salisbury Island did not.[5] She filed for an exemption with Minister of Justice, calling the office directly after receiving no response and was then able to return to Natal, where she could finish her degree.[5]

Pillay's alma mater, Harvard Law School

She later attended Harvard Law School under the foreign exchange Harvard–South Africa Scholarship Program,[9] earning an LLM in 1982 and a Doctor of Juridical Science degree after completing her thesis in 1988.[5][1] Pillay was the first South African to obtain a doctorate in law from Harvard Law School.[10]

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Pillay has spent much of her legal career advocating for the preservation of international human rights law, with a special focus on crimes regarding rape and sexual violence.[11] She was very involved in the anti-apartheid movement, defending political opponents of apartheid in their cases against the state for poor prison conditions and the use of torture.[12][5]

Shadow work

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After graduating from the University of Natal, Pillay had the choice of becoming an advocate or an attorney.[5] Pillay chose to pursue a legal career as an attorney, which required two years of service as an attorney before becoming an admitted attorney.[5] She did her articles under N. T. Naicker,[13][4] a banned member of the African National Congress. Naicker was often under house arrest and had to rely on Pillay to testify for his clients in court.[5][13]

In 1967, Pillay became one of three women admitted as attorneys, and the first non-white[14] woman to open her own law practice in the province of Natal.[15] She says she had no other alternative: "No law firm would employ me because they said they could not have white employees taking instructions from a coloured person".[12] As a non-white lawyer under the apartheid regime, she was not allowed to enter a judge's chambers.[12]

Private practice

[edit]

During her 28 years as a lawyer in South Africa, she defended anti-Apartheid activists[16] of the African National Congress, the Unity Movement, the Black Consciousness Movement (notably leaders Saths Cooper and Strini Moodley[4]), and Azapo.[5] She also helped expose the use of torture[16] and poor conditions of political detainees.[12] When her husband was detained in 1971 under the Terrorism Act, she successfully sued to prevent the police from using unlawful methods of interrogation against him.[17][18] In 1973,[5] she won the right for political prisoners on Robben Island,[19] including Nelson Mandela, to have access to lawyers in State v Kader Hassim and 9 others and State v Harry Gwala and 9 others.[5][20] While providing legal counsel, her clients recommended she consult judges with expertise in international law and humanitarian law on their cases.[5]

Pillay then applied to and attended Harvard University in 1981 under the foreign exchange Harvard-South Africa Scholarship Program and earned her Master of Law.[5] The Harvard-South Africa Scholarship Program was a foreign exchange program created by anti-apartheid activists on Harvard's campus.[1] They demanded that if the university were to continue to invest in companies that did business with South Africa under apartheid that they offer opportunities for South African students to study at Harvard.[1] After completing her thesis, she graduated from Harvard Law School with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1988.[17]

During this time, she also co-founded the Advice Desk for Abused Women, among other activities.[17][4]

High Court of South Africa

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In 1995, the year after the African National Congress came to power, Pillay was nominated and confirmed to the High Court of South Africa by President Nelson Mandela and the Judicial Service Commission[21] under supervision of the bar association, becoming the first non-white woman to serve on the court.[5][15][21]

The Judicial Service Commission is a group of jurists hand picked by the President of South Africa to screen incoming candidates on the High Court of South Africa and compile the list of nominees.[22] Pillay's connection with Nelson Mandela during their work against apartheid made her a familiar name to Mandela during his presidency, putting her on the short-list for the nomination to the court.[1] Shortly after her appointment, President Mandela called Pillay to personally congratulate her on her judgeship, stating "your appointment gives me great personal joy".[5] She noted that "the first time I entered a judge's chambers was when I entered my own."[20]

Her tenure on the High Court was short, as the United Nations General Assembly elected her to serve as a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) shortly after.[12][23]

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1995–2003)

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In 1995, the Minister of Justice Abdullah Omar and President Mandela submitted Pillay's name as a nominee for the UN Security Council and a judge on the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).[21] Between 1999 and 2003, Pillay served on the ICTR and was elected President Judge.[24] She served for eight years, including four years as president.[23] She was the only female judge for the first four years of the tribunal.[25] Her tenure on the ICTR is best remembered for her role in the landmark trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu, which established that rape and sexual assault could constitute acts of genocide.[26][25][27][24] Pillay said in an interview, "From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out a strong signal that rape is no longer a trophy of war."[27]

Notable cases

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Rape as a form of genocide

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In the case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu on 2 September 1998, the court indicted Akayesu for being individually responsible for death and harm of Tutsis during the Rwandan Genocide.[28] It was during the case that Pillay was able to set an international legal precedent which considered rape as a form of genocide and a crime against humanity.[29] The court argued that crimes against humanity are not defined by their discriminatory intent.[30] Rather, an act is considered a crime against humanity if it is "part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population".[30] In this case, Akayesu was mayor of the Taba commune where many Tutsi women took refuge and purposefully instructed the militia group to target and rape civilian women.[31][32]

The role of media in inciting violence

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Pillay also served on the Prosecutor v Ferdinand Nahimana, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, Hassan Ngeze trial regarding the role that Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and Kangura magazine played in spreading hate propaganda against the Tutsis.[5] The criminal tribunal found that Ferdinand Nahimana was indicted for the direct and public incitement to commit genocide while working at the radio station RTLM.[33] Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza was also indicted for the direct and public incitement to commit genocide at RTLM and for his work with the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic.[33] Hassan Ngeze was also charged for the incitement of genocide in relation to his work with Kangura magazine.[33] The case was significant for considering the role media plays in politics and public opinion, and its real life ramifications.[34]

International Criminal Court (2003–2008)

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Pillay garnered international recognition for her work as a judge on the ICTR and caught the attention of the members of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice during the late 1990s.[29] Impressed by her work, women's advocates wanted to ensure the protection of women's rights during the establishment of the International Criminal Court.[35] The Women's Caucus gained enough momentum to attend PrepCom and the Rome Diplomatic Conference where they codified women's rights into the ICC statute, advocating that there be quota for the number of women judges on the bench and the use of "gender" instead of "sex" in the ICC provisions of the Rome Statue.[35][29] After the establishment of the ICC, Pillay became one of the first judges to ever serve on the court.[11]

Pillay was nominated to serve on the International Criminal Court's Appeal Chambers by the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute on 7 February 2003.[11][36][11]

She was elected to a six-year term that March, but resigned in July 2008, effective 31 August 2008, in order to take up her position with the UN.[37]

One of the first cases to appear in the International Criminal Court was The Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for enlisting children under 15 years old to the armed militias inciting violence between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in the Ituri, north-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[38] While Dyilo was convicted for his war crimes in 2012, Pillay served on the appeals chamber during the pre-trial phase of the case from 2006 to the end of her term in 2008.[39]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2008–2014)

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Navi Pillay speaking as High Commissioner for Human Rights in the UN

On 24 July 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated Pillay to succeed Louise Arbour as High Commissioner for Human Rights.[40][13][41][42] The United States reportedly resisted her appointment at first, because of her views on abortion and other issues, but eventually dropped its opposition.[16] At a special meeting on 28 July 2008, the UN General Assembly confirmed the nomination by consensus.[43] Her four-year term began on 1 September 2008.[43] Pillay says the High Commissioner is "the voice of the victim everywhere".[12] In 2012, she was given a two-year second term.[43][9]

In 2009, Pillay called for international action to end caste discrimination and published the opinion piece "Tearing down the wall of caste"[44] and subsequently gave a poignant interview in The Nation where she called for adopting UN Principles and Guidelines on caste-based discrimination[45]. She followed up in 2013 with a strong statement on caste and gender at the UN Human Rights Council[46].

Pillay voiced support for a gay rights resolution in the UNHRC, which was approved in 2011.[47] She also signed a document "Born Free and Equal", about sexual orientation and gender identity in international human rights law, during her term.[48]

Pillay expressed concern about pressure being placed on private companies to enact a financial blockade against WikiLeaks in 2010. She said such action was a violation of WikiLeaks' right to freedom of expression.[49] At a news conference in July 2014, she referred to Edward Snowden as a "human rights defender" and said, "I am raising right here some very important arguments that could be raised on his behalf so that these criminal proceedings are averted."[50]

In a speech on 8 June 2012, Pillay blacklisted the provincial government of Quebec in Canada for human rights violations concerning the rights to peaceful protest and free expression for its student protesters, specifically in Canada.[51] The bill in question, Bill 78, required that protest groups over 50 must gain approval from authorities at least 8 hours before the planned start of the protest.[51] The reaction from human rights NGOs was mixed.[51] Quebec official sources criticised Pillay for comparing Quebec with areas known to have worse records.[51]

Pillay's call in 2012 for the suspension of sanctions against the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe was criticised by civil society groups in the country, which accused the Zimbabwean government of manipulating Pillay into overlooking the human rights violations committed by the government.[52]

Civilians displaced during the Sri Lankan Civil War

Her 2013 criticism of the Sri Lankan government being an authoritarian state,[53] in alleging human rights violations and atrocities committed by them against Tamil civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, led the government and its supporters to apportion her own Tamil descent as the only reason for her criticism, a claim she strongly denies.[54]

During the 2014 Gaza war, Pillay stated that both Israel and Hamas had likely violated international law.[55] Her statement that Israel had engaged in the "apparent targeting... of seven children playing on a Gaza beach"[56] during the 2014 Gaza war beach bombings was criticised in a Fox News op-ed by Anne Bayefsky as "incitement to hate".[57] Pillay also criticised US funding of the Iron Dome program, noting that "no such protection has been provided to Gazans against the shelling".[58][59] Liel Leibovitz in an article for Tablet, described the statement as a "hilariously delicious absurdity".[60] On 25 July 2014, the United States Congress published a letter addressed to Pillay by over 100 members in which the signatories asserted that the Human Rights Council "cannot be taken seriously as a human rights organisation" because of their investigation of Israel's conduct during the war.[61][62]

In August 2014, she criticised the international community over its "paralysis" in dealing with the more than three-year-old Syrian Civil War, which by 30 April 2014 had resulted in 191,369 deaths.[63]

International Court of Justice

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Navi Pillay in 2018

The composition of the bench of the International Court of Justice varies from case to case. In cases where there are no judges of the nationality of one or both of the parties present, an ad hoc can be appointed to serve on the bench.[64] Pillay has been serving as an ad hoc judge on the Rohingya genocide case (The Gambia v Myanmar) for crimes of genocide since 2019, having been designated by The Gambia, a party in the case.[65][19] The case was brought by The Gambia against Myanmar for violating the Genocide Convention in its treatment of the Rohingya.[66] Despite pushback from Myanmar, the court approved The Gambia's case as admissible and continues to hold hearings.[65] The case is notable in that it involves one country (The Gambia), a signatory of the Genocide Convention, suing another fellow signatory (Myanmar) on behalf of a third party and non-signatory (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation).[66][67]

Commission of Inquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory

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Pillay was chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, created after the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, until November 2025.[19][68] Pillay has said that "some states, including the United States and Europe [sic], did not support the establishment of the commission" because it had no formal end date, to which Pillay responded that "the [Israeli] occupation does not have an end date either and you tend to support that occupation".[69]

In June 2024, the commission issued its findings, stating that war crimes had been committed by both Hamas and Israel in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks.[70][71] In July 2025, the three members of the commission announced that they were planning to resign due to personal reasons.[72] In September 2025, the Commission of Inquiry determined that Israel had committed genocide during the Gaza war.[71][72]

Pillay has denounced Israel for disproportionately targeting civilians, including children, and has stated that these actions cannot be justified as self-defence.[69] In an op-ed in The New York Times in September 2025, she stated that the world has an obligation to prevent genocide, by stopping military support to Israel, and "using all available diplomatic and legal means to stop the killing".[73] In response, Israeli officials and other pro-Israel critics have accused Pillay of antisemitism, citing her statements and positions to support their allegations, such as denying Israel's right to self-defense against non-state terrorist groups, in addition to alleged downplaying and legitimizing of Palestinian terrorism, among other statements.[74][75][76]

Other roles

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Navi Pillay in 2013

During her time in private practice, she also contributed to society and the law in many other ways. As a member of the Women's National Coalition, she contributed to the inclusion in South Africa's Constitution of an equality clause prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.[77]

In 1980, Pillay was a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.[43]

In 1986, she co-founded, along with Anshu Padayachee, the Advice Desk for Abused Women in Durban,[4] initially running it from their own homes. The organisation later changed its name to the Advice Desk for the Abused, expanding its support to children, elderly people, and people with disabilities, and moved to the campus of the former University of Durban-Westville. By 2026 it had provided assistance to around 500,000 people.[4] Padayachee was a lecturer in criminology, and was later acting vice-chancellor of the ML Sultan Technikon. She died in July 2023.[4]

In 1992, Pillay co-founded international women's rights group Equality Now in New York, along with two other human rights lawyers, Jessica Neuwirth, and Feryal Gharahi. The aim was to bring equality for women into the field of human rights.[78][77]

In 1995, she served as vice-president of the University of Durban-Westville.[43]

As of 2026, Pillay is president of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty, based in Madrid, Spain; president of the Advisory Council of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy; and the chair of the Quasi-Judicial Inquiry into Detention in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.[19]

Recognition and awards

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Nobel Peace Prize

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In October 2026, Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The citation read:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee attaches importance to Navi Pillay's role as a driving force in the development of an international system of law and order, while further emphasising her judicial rigour, personal integrity and considerable courage. At a time when the number of wars and conflicts is rising, and when judges and institutions of international law are under political attack, the Nobel Committee wishes to issue a reminder that the ability to resolve conflicts without force or violence is dependent on the international rule of law. An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world.[68]

In its announcement, the committee highlighted Pillay's contribution to the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and to strengthening international legal institutions. It singled out her influence on the Rwanda tribunal's recognition that rape and sexual violence could constitute crimes against humanity and genocide. The committee placed the award in the context of increasing armed conflict and political pressure on international courts and judges, arguing that legal accountability and justice for victims were essential to lasting peace.[3]

Pillay became the first South African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.[79][80][81] She is the fifth South African individual to do so, after Albert Luthuli (1960); Desmond Tutu (1984); and Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, who shared the prize in 1993.[4]

Pillay learned of the award while attending an international conference in Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, where the post-war trials of Nazi leaders took place. According to NobelPrize.org, the committee had been unable to contact her before the announcement; Norwegian Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken subsequently conveyed the news personally. In a telephone interview, she associated the recognition with the institutions she had served and the people she had worked for.[82]

Honorary degrees

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Pillay has been awarded honorary degrees by:

Honours

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Other recognition

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Pillay has received many other awards and honours over the course of her career, including:

Personal life

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She met her husband Paranjothee "Gaby" Anthony Pillay, also a lawyer, at a student dance in 1962.[5][18] The two married in January 1965[43] and, after finding that they were unable to conceive, the couple adopted two baby girls a few years apart, Isvari and Kamini.[18]

Their marriage lasted for around 30 years, despite long periods apart as Navi had to move to Tanzania for the Rwanda tribunal, and then to The Hague for the ICC. Gaby's career was broken up during apartheid, as he was detained for his anti-apartheid activism, and he later succumbed to alcoholism. He died in the late 1990s.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Naidu, Sam (25 July 2013). Navi Pillay: Realising Human Rights for All. Quercus. ISBN 978-1-909807-27-3. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Navi Pillay 2010". Nelson Mandela University. Archived from the original on 12 April 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "The Nobel Peace Prize 2026 – Press release". NobelPrize.org. 9 October 2026. Archived from the original on 12 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Nel, Brandon (9 October 2026). "'We are very proud': Durban celebrates Navi Pillay's Nobel Peace Prize". IOL. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Heyns, Christof (2012). ""Interview with Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights"". South African Yearbook of International Law. 37: 9–21. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via HeinOnline.
  6. 1 2 Jain, Sanya (9 October 2026). "Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize: Her grandparents were Indian indentured labourers". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 10 October 2026. according to Sam Naidu in Navi Pillay: Realising Human Rights for All
  7. ↑ Scott, Dianne (1994). Communal space construction : the rise and fall of Clairwood and district (Ph.D.). University of Natal. Retrieved 11 October 2026 – via ResearchSpace.
  8. ↑ "History of banknotes and coin". 2020.
  9. 1 2 "High Commissioner". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Women Marching Into the 21st Century: Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo. HSRC Press. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7969-1966-3.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Judge Navanethem Pillay". International Criminal Court. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fisher, Jonah (28 July 2008). "Profile: New UN human rights chief". Archived from the original on 9 October 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 "Navanethem (Navi) Pillay". South African History Online. 9 October 2026. Archived from the original on 10 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Human Sciences Research Council. Group: Democracy and Governance (2000). Women Marching Into the 21st Century: Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo. Human Sciences Research Council. ISBN 978-0-7969-1966-3.
  15. 1 2 Reuters (28 July 2008). "FACTBOX-South Africa's Pillay is new human rights chief". Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 Charbonneau, Louis (28 July 2008). "U.N. assembly confirms S.African as human rights chief". Reuters. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  17. 1 2 3 Interview with Vino Reddy Archived 23 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine (11 August 2002). Voices of Resistance. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Crossette, Barbara (15 September 2022). "Born Under Apartheid, Navi Pillay Has Climbed to Global Heights in Promoting Human Rights Law". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 4 ""Commissioners of the COI"". United Nations Human Rights Council. 1 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 September 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  20. 1 2 Farley, Maggie (26 July 2008). "Human rights commissioner fought a long battle for her own rights". Archived 11 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  21. 1 2 3 Andrews, Penelope (1 July 2006). "The South African Judicial Appointments Process". Osgoode Hall Law Journal. 44 (3): 565–572. doi:10.60082/2817-5069.1288. ISSN 2817-5069. S2CID 147439191. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "The appointment of Judges". South African History Online. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  23. 1 2 International Criminal Court. "Judge Navanethem Pillay Archived 9 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  24. 1 2 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1999). Fourth annual report to the United Nations Archived 3 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  25. 1 2 Glassborow, Katy (26 July 2006). "Apartheid "Legacy Haunts ICC Appeals Judge" Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  26. ↑ Newburger, Emily (Spring 2006). "The bus driver's daughter". Archived 24 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Harvard Law Bulletin. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  27. 1 2 Berkeley, Bill (11 October 1998). "Judgment Day". Washington Post Sunday Magazine. p. W10.
  28. ↑ "International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: Prosecutor v. Akayesu". International Legal Materials of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. 37 (6): 1399–1410. November 1998. doi:10.1017/s0020782900012304. ISSN 0020-7829 – via International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
  29. 1 2 3 Frey, Barbara (2004). A Fair Representation: Advocating for Women's Rights in the International Criminal Court. The Center on the Women and Public Policy.
  30. 1 2 "ICD – Akayesu – Asser Institute". www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  31. ↑ "New charges against Akayesu: sexual violence | United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda". unictr.irmct.org. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  32. ↑ "Neither Hutu nor Tutsi, just Rwandan". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  33. 1 2 3 Taulbee, James Larry (2018). "Prosecutor v. Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, Ferdinand Nahimana, and Hassan Ngeze". War Crimes and Trials: A Primary Source Guide. ABC-CLIO, LLC. pp. 305–314. doi:10.5040/9798216033561.ch-031. ISBN 979-8-216-03356-1. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  34. ↑ "Three Media Leaders convicted for Genocide | United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda". unictr.irmct.org. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  35. 1 2 "Hein online". heinonline.org. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  36. ↑ "Navanethem Pillay". gruber.yale.edu. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  37. ↑ "Resignation of Judge Navanethem Pillay". International Criminal Court. 30 July 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  38. ↑ "Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (Case Information Sheet)" (PDF). International Criminal Court. July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  39. ↑ "DECISION ON THOMAS LUBANGA DYILO'S APPLICATION FOR REFERRAL TO THE PRE-TRIAL CHAMBER / IN THE ALTERNATIVE, DISCONTINUANCE OF APPEAL". International Criminal Court. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  40. ↑ "South African judge named to UN human rights top job" Archived 5 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. france24.com. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  41. ↑ Cowell, Alan, and Marlise Simons (18 July 2008), "UN secretary general plans to nominate South African judge as human rights chief". The New York Times. Archived 23 March 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  42. ↑ "Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights". 10 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Navanethem Pillay confirmed as new High Commissioner for Human Rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018.". Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  44. ↑ "Opinion Piece: Tearing down the wall of caste". OHCHR. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  45. ↑ symbiotisk (27 October 2009). "Pillay calls for UN convention on caste". International Dalit Solidarity Network. Archived from the original on 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  46. ↑ symbiotisk (5 June 2013). "Pillay pledges support for Dalit women". International Dalit Solidarity Network. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  47. ↑ Gary, Juneau (2012). "Are LGBT rights human rights? Recent development at the United nations". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  48. ↑ Born Free and Equal – Sexual orientation and gender identity in international human rights law Archived 4 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine (2012)
  49. ↑ Nebehay, Stephanie (9 December 2010). "UN rights boss concerned at targeting of WikiLeaks". Reuters. Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  50. ↑ "UN's Pillay suggests Snowden should not face trial". Reuters. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  51. 1 2 3 4 Pedersen, Stephanie (24 June 2012). "Quebec Under Fire For Human Rights Record". The International. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  52. ↑ "Pillay calls for an end to sanctions against Zimbabwe". The M&G Online. AFP. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  53. ↑ "UN's Navi Pillay attacks Sri Lanka human rights record". BBC News. 31 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  54. ↑ IDN Depth news (27 September 2013). "Sri Lanka: UN's Navi Pillay Fails to Dispel Charges of Bias". The Nation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  55. ↑ "UN human rights chief blasts Gaza 'war crimes'". France 24. 23 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  56. ↑ "Statement by Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council 21st Special Session: Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem". OHCHR. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  57. ↑ "Gaza Strip conflict: Time to face the ugly truth – the UN encourages terrorism". Fox News. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  58. ↑ "Abbas Seeks Broad Support for War Crimes Charges". ABC News. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  59. ↑ "UN rights chief: Israel defying international law in Gaza, must be held accountable". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  60. ↑ Leibovitz, Liel (4 August 2014). "Did the U.N. Call on Israel to Share Iron Dome With Hamas?". Tablet. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  61. ↑ Karmel, Ariela (16 September 2025). "UN panel claims genocide underway in Gaza; Israel blasts members as 'Hamas proxies'". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  62. ↑ Israel, Steve; Ted Deutch; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Tom Cole (25 July 2014). "Letter to Navi Pillay" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  63. ↑ "UN criticizes 'international paralysis' on Syrian civil war". Big News Network.com. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  64. ↑ "Judges ad hoc". www.icj-cij.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  65. 1 2 "Summary of the Judgement of 22 July 2022" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 22 July 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  66. 1 2 "Developments in Gambia's Case Against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice". Human Rights Watch. 14 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  67. ↑ "ICJ – The Gambia v. Myanmar". Independent Investigate Mechanism for Myanmar. United Nations.
  68. 1 2 "Nobel Peace Prize 2026". Nobel Prize. 9 October 2026. Archived from the original on 9 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  69. 1 2 UN's Navi Pillay: Israel has 'no intention of ending occupation' | Talk to Al Jazeera, 28 October 2023, retrieved 9 December 2023
  70. ↑ "Detailed findings on attacks carried out on and after 7 October 2023 in Israel" (PDF). ohchr.org. United Nations Human Rights Council. 19 June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  71. 1 2 "Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says". www.bbc.com. 16 September 2025. Archived from the original on 3 August 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  72. 1 2 Keaten, Jamey (16 September 2025). "UN commission of inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza and urges global action". PBS News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  73. ↑ Pillay, Navi (16 September 2025). "Opinion | My U.N. Commission's Finding: Israel Is Committing Genocide". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  74. ↑ Reiss, Johnatan (9 October 2026). "Israel Denounces the Decision to Award the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
  75. ↑ "Navi Pillay, head of UN commission that accused Israel of genocide, wins Nobel Peace Prize". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
  76. ↑ "Pillay's Pogrom: The UN Tells Palestinian Terrorists, "We Have Your Back"". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  77. 1 2 "Jordan Diplomat to Replace Navi Pillay in United Nations for Human Rights". NDTV. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  78. ↑ "History". Equality Now. 27 June 2025. Archived from the original on 6 October 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  79. ↑ Kathrada, Hasina (9 October 2026). "Navi Pillay becomes fifth South African to win Nobel Peace Prize". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2026.
  80. ↑ Ronald, Issy; Kent, Lauren; Said-Moorhouse, Lauren; Lee, Deva. "Nobel Peace Prize 2026 goes to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay". CNN. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  81. ↑ "Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace and international law". DW. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  82. ↑ "Navi Pillay – Interview". NobelPrize.org. 9 October 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  83. ↑ "DUT celebrates Nobel Peace Prize win for honorary doctorate recipient judge Navi Pillay". Durban University of Technology. 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  84. ↑ "2026-10 - Wits congratulates Justice Navi Pillay - Wits University". www.wits.ac.za. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  85. ↑ "Honorary graduates | University of Cape Town". University of Cape Town. Archived from the original on 6 September 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  86. ↑ Durham University (15 May 2007). "Honorary degrees for remarkable achievement Archived 3 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine." Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  87. ↑ CUNY Newswire (25 May 2006). "CUNY Commencement 2006 Archived 28 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  88. ↑ "LSE Honorary Degrees" (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  89. ↑ Walters, Paul (1 April 2005). Citation for honorary doctorate, Rhodes University. Archived 26 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 30 July 2008.
  90. ↑ "Laudatio KU Leuven Archived 16 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 1 September 2014.
  91. ↑ "Mandeville Lecture Archived 11 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 9 June 2016.
  92. ↑ "Journée officielle de l'Alma mater, cérémonie du Dies academicus 2012 sur le thème le savoir au service des droits humains à Uni Dufour. Docteur honoris causa: Navanethem Pillay, Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme". phototheque.unige.ch.
  93. ↑ "Dies academicus 2013". unifr.ch.
  94. ↑ "جلالة الملك يستقبل بالدار البيضاء المفوضة السامية لحقوق الإنسان". maarifpress.com.
  95. ↑ "Congrats, dear Navi Pillay, for the German Federal Cross of Merit". x.com.
  96. ↑ "2003 Gruber Women's Rights Prize | Gruber Foundation". gruber.yale.edu. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  97. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on 15 December 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  98. ↑ "2009 Summit Highlights". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  99. ↑ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  100. ↑ "His Majesty the King awards the World Peace and Liberty Prize to Andrew Young, icon of Civil Rights in US". World Jurist Association. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  101. ↑ Whitfeld, Anna (24 May 2025). "Sydney Peace Prize winner". ABC listen. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  102. ↑ "Palmepristagare". Palmefonden. Archived from the original on 23 March 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
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