Navi Pillay’s record draws criticism after Nobel Peace Prize

Navi Pillay, a South African former judge, received the Nobel Peace Prize last week, according to the commentary.

The Nobel committee praised her work to strengthen peace and international law, including her role in recognizing the genocide in Rwanda.

The commentary challenges that praise, focusing on her time as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

It argues that political pressures weakened the UN human rights system and that serious abuses in places including Sudan and Sri Lanka went without consequences.

It also criticizes Pillay for signing a boycott, divestment and sanctions appeal against Israel in 2020, then taking a UN role in 2021 to assess human rights in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

A 2025 report she was involved in accused Israel of genocide; the commentary says critics dispute its evidence and note that it is not legally binding.

It also cites a whistleblower’s allegation that the identities of activists who planned to speak at the UN were shared with China during Pillay’s tenure, but says the practice ended after she left office.