Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a former United Nations human rights chief and judge at the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to advance peace and international law.
Announcing the award in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said the South African-born Pillay, 85, had made significant contributions to promoting peace and justice worldwide.
Her work “is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world,” he said.
Frydnes added that the committee had not yet managed to contact Pillay to inform her of the award, widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious honours.
In a statement, the committee said the rising number of wars and conflicts, alongside political attacks on judges and international legal institutions, made it important to reaffirm the role of international law in resolving disputes peacefully.
It said a global legal system that brings war criminals to justice and ensures accountability for abuses against victims was essential to achieving lasting peace.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 287 nominations for this year's prize, slightly more than a quarter of them organisations. Experts say the committee generally considers efforts to establish lasting peace, promote international fraternity and strengthen institutions that support these objectives.
Last year, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for a democratic transition in Venezuela. She was praised as a woman who kept democracy alive amid growing darkness.
Machado later presented her Nobel medal to US President Donald Trump after the United States ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. However, the gesture was largely symbolic, as the Nobel Committee has clarified that the award itself cannot be transferred to another person.
Nominations may be submitted by a select group of eligible individuals and organisations, including heads of state, national-level politicians, university professors, directors of foreign policy institutes, former Nobel laureates and members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Four other Nobel Prizes were announced earlier this week. The medicine prize went to three scientists whose work helped develop a light-based tool for investigating brain functions. The physics prize recognised a scientist's efforts to explain an unusual group of neutrinos, while the chemistry prize honoured two scientists for uncovering the mechanisms behind mirror-image molecular structures, work that has contributed to the development of numerous medicines.
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the literature prize on Thursday for works described as “bold and inventive” that combine classical and modern elements while blurring the boundaries between poetry and prose.
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is scheduled to be announced on Monday.
This year's Nobel Prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to about $1.2 million, whether awarded to an individual, a small group of laureates or an organisation.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been awarded since 1901. So far, it has gone to 112 individuals and 28 organisations. The International Committee of the Red Cross has received the honour three times, while the UN refugee agency has won it twice.
The prize has been withheld on 19 occasions, mostly during the two world wars. No award was given in 1948, the year Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Gandhi had been nominated 12 times but never received the prize.
In 1939, a Swedish member of parliament nominated Adolf Hitler but later withdrew the nomination, explaining that it had never been intended seriously.