Nobel Peace Prize laureate Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has drawn renewed attention to her work on genocide and international accountability, particularly her conclusion that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Pillay, a South African jurist of Indian origin and former United Nations human rights chief, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to advance peace and international law.

Her award has been welcomed by human rights advocates but condemned by Israel. Hours after the announcement, the United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, where Pillay previously served as a judge.

In a September 2025 opinion article for The New York Times, Pillay explained why the UN commission she chaired had concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Drawing on her experience at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, she emphasised the gravity of the commission’s finding.

“The judicial panel over which I presided convicted three Rwandans of genocide. So I understand the word ‘genocide,’ and it is not one I use lightly,” she wrote.

“Our conclusion is stark: Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” she added.

The commission examined evidence covering the period from October 7, 2023, to July 31, 2025. Its conclusion was an assessment by the commission, rather than a court judgment. Israel rejected the report.

Pillay pointed to the destruction of hospitals and neighbourhoods, starvation and the breakdown of maternal healthcare in Gaza as part of the evidence underpinning the findings.

“These are not the accidents of war. They are acts calculated to bring about the destruction of a people,” she wrote.

She also acknowledged the Hamas attacks that triggered the war and the suffering of Israeli families, while arguing that those atrocities could not justify genocide.

“I do not write these words as an adversary of Israel,” she wrote. “Our commission has documented the crimes by Hamas. But no crime, however grave, justifies genocide. To respond to atrocity with atrocity is to abandon the very values international law was created to protect.”

Her appeal also targeted governments providing weapons and military support. She called for unrestricted humanitarian assistance and action to halt displacement and destruction in Gaza.

“To do nothing is not neutrality. It is complicity,” she wrote.

Following the Nobel announcement on Friday, Pillay again addressed the Gaza report and the recognition she had received for its findings.

“Why would you need courage to speak the truth?” she asked, according to Al Jazeera.

Pillay concluded her New York Times article by stressing that preventing genocide was a responsibility shared by states and the wider public.

“The prevention of genocide is not a matter of discretion of states. It is a legal and moral obligation, and it admits no delay. The law requires action. Our common humanity demands it.”

Announcing the award in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said Pillay, 85, had made significant contributions to advancing peace and justice around the world.

Her work, he said, “is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world”.

Professor Muhammad Yunus also congratulated Pillay on Friday, praising her lifelong commitment to justice, human rights and accountability.