Navi Pillay, the South African jurist who won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, joked about sharing the honour with US President Donald Trump while reacting to the announcement, bringing renewed attention to the Republican leader’s deep desire to receive the prestigious award.“If you clap a little bit more I may share this prize with Trump,” Pillay said in Nuremberg after being applauded following news of her win. She was recognised for her efforts to promote peace and international law by ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
Trump & his ‘Nobel’ quest
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize and has argued that his diplomatic efforts deserve recognition. His pursuit of the award drew eyeballs in January this year, when Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado offered to share her 2025 prize with him.After Machado indicated that she wanted to give him the award, Trump told Fox News that accepting it would be a “great honour”. The White House also said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize “many times over” after the award’s organisers ruled that it could not be transferred to another person.Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democratic rights and campaigning for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. The Nobel Committee described her as one of Latin America’s most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in recent times.She was elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly in 2010 but was removed from office in 2014. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, she won the opposition primary but was barred from contesting. She subsequently backed Edmundo González Urrutia, whose supporters published voting records they said showed he had defeated President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro’s government claimed victory and intensified its crackdown on opponents.Machado was living in hiding when she won the award, and her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the medal and diploma on her behalf at the December 2025 ceremony in Oslo.On January 15, 2026, Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House, saying the gesture recognised his commitment to Venezuela’s freedom. Trump thanked her publicly and called it a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.However, the Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified that although the physical medal could change hands, the Nobel Peace Prize itself could not be shared or transferred. The title of laureate remains with the person or organisation selected by the committee.
All about Navanethem Pillay
Pillay, whose full name is Navanethem Pillay, was born in Durban during apartheid into a family of Indian Tamil origin. She became a pioneering lawyer and jurist, serving on South Africa’s high court before joining the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.She later served at the International Criminal Court and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She also chaired the UN commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and is currently a judge at the International Court of Justice, which is hearing a case concerning allegations of genocide against Myanmar.Pillay played a significant role in landmark rulings recognising rape and sexual violence as possible acts of genocide and crimes against humanity. She was also involved in cases examining how media propaganda can incite hatred and violence against targeted communities.The Nobel Committee said her work demonstrated the importance of international law in resolving conflicts peacefully, holding powerful states and individuals accountable, and protecting victims. It also highlighted concerns about the weakening of international legal institutions and the growing influence of power politics over the rule of law.
Previous Nobel Peace Prize winners
In 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots organisation representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The organisation was recognised for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for using survivors’ testimonies to demonstrate why nuclear weapons must never be used again.The awards to Nihon Hidankyo, Machado and Pillay have recognised different approaches to peace, ranging from nuclear disarmament and democratic rights to accountability for war crimes and genocide.