South African jurist Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize
Pillay was the first non-white woman to serve as a judge in South Africa’s High Court but her focus on ethnic cleansing in Rwanda put her on the global stage. Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who was the UN’s longest-serving human rights chief, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Pillay was a pioneer long before taking on major international roles: She was the first non-white woman to serve as a judge in South Africa’s High Court. But it has been her time on the global stage — and her particular focus on genocide — that has won her most plaudits, beginning with the tribunal over ethnic cleansing in Rwanda. The focus has made her a controversial figure, however, particularly in countries she argues have carried out genocide; she told The Guardian last year that she saw echoes of the Rwandan killings in Israel’s war in Gaza, which Israel angrily dismissed.
Pillay was the first non-white woman to serve as a judge in South Africa’s High Court but her focus on ethnic cleansing in Rwanda put her on the global stage. Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who was the UN’s longest-serving human rights chief, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Pillay was a pioneer long before taking on major international roles: She was the first non-white woman to serve as a judge in South Africa’s High Court. But it has been her time on the global stage — and her particular focus on genocide — that has won her most plaudits, beginning with the tribunal over ethnic cleansing in Rwanda.
The focus has made her a controversial figure, however, particularly in countries she argues have carried out genocide; she told The Guardian last year that she saw echoes of the Rwandan killings in Israel’s war in Gaza, which Israel angrily dismissed.