South African judge and human rights champion Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of her work against war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Pillay, who headed the Rwanda genocide tribunal, also presided over a UN commission that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Here are some of the major reactions to her award:
US President
US President Donald Trump slammed the “disgraceful” Nobel Peace Prize choice on Friday as leaving an “indelible stain” on Norway, arguing that the award should have gone to him.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has made no secret of his desire to win the prize.
Trump labelled the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s choice as “a disgraceful and embarrassing decision”, telling a rally of his supporters in Syracuse, New York, he had “never heard of” Pillay.
UN Chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Pillay’s victory honours those who fight to defend international law and human rights.
“Today’s prize is a tribute to all those working to uphold and defend international law, the rule of law and human rights, and secure peace, justice and human dignity,” he said.
South African President
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the award was a “profound tribute to the veteran jurist’s courage, integrity and lifelong commitment to justice”.
Israeli Foreign Ministry
Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the award.
“It’s the grotesque weaponisation of an award to legitimise anti-Israel hatred and prejudice,” the ministry wrote on X.
“Now that the Nobel commission has rewarded the biggest lie of the 21st century, Joseph Goebbels is certainly applauding from hell,” it added, referring to the Nazi propagandist.
EU Chief
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Pillay for confronting “some of humanity’s darkest chapters”.
“She has looked the brutality of injustice in the eye and never looked away. She is the defender of the persecuted, the vulnerable, the voiceless and the excluded,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
Governments across Europe praised Pillay. France said the Nobel was “a reward for her commitment to international criminal justice,” highlighting her role fighting apartheid in South Africa.
UN Rights Chief
The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, hailed the award as “a recognition, a reaffirmation that human rights, the rule of law and justice, and accountability are fundamental to everything, to peace, to security, and prosperity”.
ICC Head
International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane said the award was especially important because of attacks on international law.
“At a time of profound challenges to the international legal order and the rule of law, this recognition carries particular significance,” Akane said in a statement.
Pillay Teases Trump
On learning of the prize, Pillay joked about US President Donald Trump’s much-publicised desire to win the award.
“If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump,” Pillay said in a video posted to X by the Secretary General of Amnesty International, which showed Pillay being applauded after the announcement of the award.
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