Navi Pillay, the South African jurist awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, used her first major public appearance as laureate to denounce United States sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, calling the measures "unheard of" and "unacceptable."
Speaking by video link from Nuremberg at an event hosted by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Saturday, the 85-year-old said hundreds of court employees felt threatened and warned that sanctions against judges for carrying out judicial duties deepened uncertainty over the future of international justice. Hours after the Nobel announcement, Washington unveiled additional sanctions against the court, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a "rogue court."
Pillay, born in Durban in 1941, was honoured by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for her efforts to promote peace and international law, from defending anti-apartheid activists to presiding over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and serving as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The committee said international law was "no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity."
Her selection drew swift criticism from the United States and Israel, which have opposed the ICC and rejected the findings of the UN commission Pillay chaired on Gaza. The court has rejected the U.S. sanctions as an attack on international law, and UN member states and rights groups echoed that criticism over the weekend.
