Those of us in South Africa who believe in and have fought for justice, equality, and the rule of international law, are so proud of Judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay and her lifelong work for justice, including to stop genocide and hold perpetrators accountable. We celebrate the recognition of her decades of courage and legal work to promote peace and international law by the Nobel Committee who has today announced her as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, South Africa’s fifth recipient and first-ever woman recipient.
From defending those who fought against Apartheid in South Africa — including on behalf of Nelson Mandela (also a Nobel Peace Prize winner) and other political activists and prisoners, to her work on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), where she played a central role in establishing that rape and sexual violence during the 1994 genocide constituted crimes against humanity and acts of genocide, to her role as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, through which she worked to hold governments accountable, protect vulnerable groups, and expand the scope of international human rights, Pillay has been a beacon and advocate of justice and the law.
The awarding of this coveted recognition comes at a time when much of the world has just somberly marked three years of Israel’s relentless attack on the people and infrastructure of Gaza, a disproportional and seemingly never-ending brutal response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Tens of thousands of innocent people have died, and children have disproportionately been killed.
Late last year, as chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Pillay called the situation in Gaza, “the most ruthless, prolonged and widespread attack against the Palestinian people in history,” as she presented the Commission’s report (A/80/337) which concluded that Israel committed four genocidal acts with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. In addition to its finding of genocide, the Commission’s report specifically named top political and military leaders — including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — as bearing “direct individual responsibility” for international crimes.
During the past three years, over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, a great percentage of which are women and children, with approximately 3% of Gaza’s pre-war population killed by relentless and indiscriminate bombing. Hundreds of journalists and humanitarian aid workers have been targeted, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem have seen an acceleration of illegal Israeli settlements.
South Africa’s democratic leaders have historically aligned with the freedom struggle of the Palestinian people. I wish my friend, Ahmed Kathrada, the anti-apartheid activist who spent 26 years in jail alongside Nelson Mandela and others, was alive to witness this moment. He was one of many, including the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu (also a Nobel Peace Prize winner), who have publicly recognized that Palestinians are living under a form of Israeli “Apartheid”. Both men advocated for Palestinian self-determination, freedom, and human rights.
The Nobel award is a victory not only for Pillay, but for her native country of South Africa, whose government instituted the ongoing genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the end of 2023, alleging that Israel’s military operations in Gaza violated the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Governments like South Africa and also individuals — such as UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese — have faced severe retaliation from the USA and Israel in their efforts to find justice through the international courts, and today, just hours after the Nobel Committee’s announcement regarding Pillay’s award, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced comprehensive sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC).
As she learned about her win today, Pillay spoke on the worsening attacks on international law and human rights, pointing in particular to attacks on the ICC.
At a time where moral consistency and courage is scarce in global leadership, the award to Pillay is a symbolic and important touchstone for international human rights law that we hope will help encourage more leaders around the world to have the courage and conviction to stand up against genocide and for the rule of law, even in the face of the assault on global justice currently perpetuated by major world powers, and to speak truth to power, especially when the victims of genocide have no voice.
Czerina Patel is a journalist and human rights activist in South Africa. The opinions written above are her own, and do not represent any organization or other entity.
